How funding supports innovation in short filmmaking

If you look at the career of any beloved filmmaker, their journey to cinematic greatness almost always begins with short films. Before Wes Anderson became known for his symmetrical style he made the 1994 short Bottle Rocket, Lynne Ramsay’s 1996 short Small Deaths was made before she was acclaimed for her powerfully melancholic features, and Christopher Nolan’s mammoth career was predated by his 1997 short film Doodlebug. 

As well as being the first step for many filmmakers, shorts are valuable for their ability to tell compact stories with punchy, concentrated impact. Though they offer a restricted runtime, opportunities for visual and narrative experimentation are endless, with reduced commitment compared to features. Shorts live on at film festivals where short film programmes spotlight filmmakers old and new and can be indispensable more widely; they can contextualise a seasoned filmmaker’s work or even succinctly raise a local issue to national audiences. 

Because of short films’ greater accessibility, funding channels and programmes that support blossoming filmmakers with funding and development are sought after. Funds available for making short films are in high demand. Regular shorts funding opportunities in the UK include The Pitch film fund, Genera and The Uncertain Kingdom, alongside the annual open call for BFI NETWORK short film funding. While many experiment by making self-funded films with friends, seeking formal funding to professionalise and strengthen their skills while making more ambitious films is no small feat. Early career filmmakers face many challenges in the current landscape. 

Producer Hollie Bryan – who was supported through BFI NETWORK’s Northern Hub and made her debut feature as a producer on Jack King’s The Ceremony (2024) – notes short films can stretch the filmmaking muscles and are a space to learn on-set dynamics. “It’s the perfect ground to take risks and make some mistakes,” Bryan says of short filmmaking. “Before I produced my debut feature, we made a BFI NETWORK short with pretty much the same team – that was a brilliant experience because it was a chance to develop our dynamic before starting the feature.”  

Alice Cabañas, the Head of BFI NETWORK, notes short films remain an integral part of a filmmaker’s journey: “BFI NETWORK’s ethos is to respond to the changing needs of emerging filmmakers, but at the same time provide the needed consistency, with annual funding calls and a wide range of development opportunities for writers, directors and producers across the UK, all to positively impact a filmmakers’ career trajectory.” 

She highlights that underpinning BFI NETWORK is the fact that “all funds and programmes are open access, and while each has eligibility criteria, maintaining that open door for applications is crucial.” Applicants can also get additional support with making an application if they have access needs to help prevent barriers. In addition, NETWORK is “committed to being truly UK-wide”.  

BFI NETWORK has two central funding strands, the Short Film Fund and the Early Development Fund, as well as an array of talent development activity in England, plus it supports and partners with screen agencies in the devolved nations: Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and works with BFI Doc Society to support emerging documentary filmmakers through activity and the Made of Truth shorts fund. “Local hubs and talent execs are on the ground across the UK, listening and responding to what’s needed in their areas to deliver hyper-local professional labs, training and networking development,” Cabañas explains. “Execs in the Hubs nurture important local regional partnerships too, with many developing activity with local industry, from regional production companies to grassroots filmmaking groups.”  

BFI NETWORK’s funding programmes are therefore under pressure, and are regularly oversubscribed, with approximately only 3% of applications to the BFI NETWORK England Short Film Fund being successful. Cabañas explains: “Although we cannot increase our funding envelope, we believe it is key that we can continue to look at where we can make the most impact with what we have.” 

Another key aspect of early career filmmaking is networking. Amrou Al-Kadhi – part of 2016’s NETWORK@LFF programme and 2017’s BFI Flare and BAFTA NETWORK mentorship programme – stresses the importance of connecting with like-minded creatives. Regarding their experience with BFI NETWORK, Al-Kadhi shared: “I got a lot of industry contacts through [the NETWORK programme]. Then I did the BFI Flare LGBTQIA+ mentorship programme which is how I met Savannah James-Bayly, my longtime producer. We did four short films together over a few years.” 

With BFI backing, Al-Kadhi made 2017’s Clash, an experimental documentary surrounding cinematic representation, and 2018’s Anemone, which follows a non-binary Nigerian teenager exploring their gender identity. “Clash had the BFI involvement early on,” Al-Kadhi noted, citing that BFI NETWORK programmes have been “integral” to building their skillset, including mentorship with Russell T Davies, on their journey to their BFI-backed feature debut Layla. The intoxicating romance, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, chronicles an intrepid young Arab drag queen exuberantly falling in love while their identity is divided between the glitzy drag world and their unknowing Palestinian family. “Before I ended up making Layla, I wrote five and wrote and directed four short films,” Al-Kadhi shared. “Short films were really important for me to just figure out the little things, like when to say cut and how to direct actors.” 

It’s not only directors who benefit from early short filmmaking. BAFTA-nominated Danielle Goff is a producer who was part of the BFI Talent Labs in 2022 and the 2023 BFI INSIGHT Emerging Producers programme. “Short films are where a lot of us cut our teeth,” she notes. Having been part of “four BFI-funded [initiatives] with Screen Scotland, the Midlands and then the London hub,” Goff describes producing shorts as “a training ground”. 

Another challenge that early career creatives face is barriers to entry. Opportunities at film school and festivals can be limited, costly to attend and inaccessible to travel to. For Goff, the BFI INSIGHT Emerging Producers programme was an essential experience in this regard: “INSIGHT was very producer-focused [with] people from all over the UK. It was a masterclass because going to a talk at a film school or a film festival is not as helpful as actually [producing films] and learning as you go.”

Though the BFI NETWORK’s funding is a limited pot, 37 short films were shortlisted for funding in 2023 from talent all over the country, with a varied slate ranging from a musical about a closeted Irish pop princess to a comedy about VR addiction.  

Short filmmaking also offers an insightful way to locate up-and-coming filmmaking talent breaking into the industry. Goff’s first film funded through her production company was with BFI NETWORK and she got into the 2022 Talent Lab a few weeks later. “I had done a lot and was interested in working with more filmmakers all across the UK,” she says, “I’ve always loved regional talent.” As one of the talents identified, Goff endeavours to do the same in her network: “I think making sure that you take as many people with you from shorts to features is important.”  

Part of the early career stage is building supportive infrastructures for BFI NETWORK alumni. “For us, a sense of community building between cohorts is really important,” Cabañas says. “We’re always looking to amplify and promote the alumni that have been through our programmes but also looking for spaces to build sustainable film communities.” BFI NETWORK is in a perpetual state of evolution, with programmes and initiatives adapting to ensure the positive impact spreads far and wide, from improving the accessibility of the application process to well-being support during production. 

Ensuring diversity and inclusion in the variety of styles, stories and genres of filmmaking projects, as well as the teams making the films, is at the heart of BFI NETWORK’s mission. In 2023-24, when taking the percentages of EDI data provided by the writer, producer and director of funded projects in England, over 50% of NETWORK awarded funding was awarded to women, 35% to Black and Global Majority talent, 29% to disabled voices, and 14% of working-class teams. “We’ve seen really positive movement since the NETWORK programme has launched in underrepresented communities being better represented in the funding being awarded,” Cabañas says.

“In some areas we are reaching our inclusion targets, but not in all. Where we’re not meeting these targets, that’s where we need to do more work, and where we are, we cannot be complacent. We’re never saying everything’s done, this is a constant area that we still need to do a lot of work in. That’s what’s important with NETWORK, the funds are only part of what we do but what we have around that is the outreach work from the central team and with our local hubs.”