Funding up to £120,000 will be available for standalone bold and ambitious short form animation projects, with applications opening on 7 May.
The BFI has opened funding for applications to the BFI National Lottery Short Form Animation Fund which aims to provide support for higher-budget animated short films. Funding for projects will range from £30,000 to £120,000 per project.
The fund will support short form animated work, continuing the BFI Filmmaking Fund’s commitment to animation as an artform. Projects that are eligible for this support can be up to 15 minutes in length and in any animated technique or genre, and for any platform, from theatrical to digital.
The fund is managed by the BFI Filmmaking Fund providing National Lottery funding. All BFI funds are committed to addressing under-representation in perspective, talent, agency, place and opportunity, working with the funding priorities to widen the range of voices and audiences served.
The BFI’s support for animated short filmmaking, with dedicated funding calls starting in 2019, has seen filmmakers practice new approaches and animation techniques and their funded short films achieve tremendous success at film festivals, award ceremonies and through online distribution to audiences. These include films such as Wild Summon, Visible Mending and Your Mountain is Waiting which were all nominated for BAFTA film awards; Wild Summon and The Debutante, also featured on the Academy Award®shortlist with the latter named best short film at the British Animation Awards. Also at the British Animation Awards, Beware of Trains won the Cutting Edge award; Inner Polar Bear won the social good award; in total seven animated shorts supported by the fund were nominated for British Animation Awards 2024 in the audience award category. In 2022, Scale premiered in the Cannes Critics’ Week, won an Audience Award at Clermont-Ferrand and was nominated for both a BIFA and a Cesar award.
Our Short Form Animation Fund has really helped to boost the range and scope of talented UK animators and their work, which is creatively important to the art of animation but also to our wider creative ecosystem. We welcome projects that will enable animators and their teams to advance their creative practice, take risks and reach a new level of ambition with success.
Mia Bays, Director of the BFI Filmmaking Fund
Having advocated for a nation shorts funding, Animation UK is delighted that the third round of the BFI Short Form Animation Fund has been announced today – providing funding to support creative talent and for smaller projects at entry-level across the UK.
Short animated films are the cornerstone of our industry, offering a diverse canvas for creative expression. They serve as both a launchpad for emerging talent and a vital bridge to longer formats. With the support of initiatives like the BFI Short Form Animation Fund, we nurture the storytellers of tomorrow.
Kate O’Connor, Executive Chair of Animation UK
The BFI also continues to support animation talent through BFI NETWORK with awards of up to £25k per project available for filmmakers at the early stages of their career.
Further details on making an application can be read online at bfi.org.uk/short-form-animation
