Following our campaign for public funds for this first rung on the creative ladder, the BFI National Lottery Short Form Animation Fund has proved incredibly successful in providing support for higher-budget animated short films, made by UK-based teams.
Since launching in 2019, the BFI’s Short Form Animation Fund, which offers support for higher-budget animated work from teams based in the UK, has proved to be immensely successful. In 2017, Animation UK set out to create to support growth a secure production base by lobbying for further investment in our globally respected Animation sector. In addition to vigorous support for the Young Audience Content Fund, and increased commitments from Broadcasters in response to the Children’s Content Review, Animation UK presented the case to the BFI for a dedicated Animated Shorts Fun and gathered evidence on the impact of a 10-year hiatus, in support of animation.
Now in its third round, the BFI Short Form Animation Fund is a vital part of the investment programme, which fills the vacuum left by previous schemes for investment in our animation creative talent and provide the next step on from the BFI Network funding for smaller projects at entry-level across the UK.
Animated short films provide a valuable talent ladder for directors and writers to move from short form to longer form work be it series, one-off specials or features. Securing funding from the BFI, together with the support of existing established production companies, will help propel the talent of tomorrow towards the tipping point in their careers. We at Lupus Films, as well as Animation UK, welcome this initiative with open arms.
Ruth Fielding, Joint Managing Director of Lupus Films
Huge credit should go to Animation UK and the BFI for creating this opportunity to access funding for short animated films, giving the next generation of filmmakers the opportunity to develop ideas, styles, techniques that all add to the ecosystem of our industry. Blue Zoo already runs a successful in-house shorts program and hopes to support this initiative and the individuals who apply.
Oli Hyatt, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Blue Zoo
The fund is for high-budget UK-based animation teams, providing funding of £30,000 – £120,000 per project, to help support these teams in creating work which can open-up new opportunities, and gain them better recognition. It can support narrative short form projects in any animated technique or genre and for any platform, from cinema to online to TV (not work intended focally for broadcast TV), and more. The fund is intended for work that is unlikely to be fully commercially financed and would therefore benefit from National Lottery support. The call for applications will take place once a year.
Further details and guidelines for the BFI National Lottery Short Form Animation Fund can be found here.
