Contents
1. Overview
The BFI has dedicated a portion of its International Connections Fund to support UK screen industry professionals to attend international markets, festivals and other international events identified by the BFI as key opportunities for collaboration and to build networks. This will lead to increased international collaboration across the screen sector.
We aim to support UK screen industry professionals and talent to:
- build mutually beneficial creative relationships
- discover new funding
- discover new distribution opportunities
This will have ongoing reciprocal benefits for industry professionals and give them the potential to scale-up projects and reach new audiences.
Group attendance at International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2025
The BFI is inviting applications from disabled film professionals to join a Group Attendance trip to participate in the industry activities, IFFR Pro, of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) between 1 and 5 February 2025. This activity is a collaboration between the BFI’s International and Inclusion teams.
International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is a leading international film festival which actively supports new and adventurous filmmaking talent through its co-production market, CineMart, its Hubert Bals Fund, Pro Hub, Rotterdam Lab, and numerous other industry activities. IFFR seeks to expand, enrich and challenge people’s views of the world and each other through film and audiovisual arts.
This Group Attendance at International Film Festival Rotterdam will support up to four UK screen professionals to attend and participate in the industry activities of the festival, IFFR Pro, including access to:
- attend the CineMart co-production forum and Talent Development initiatives
- attend the Pro Hub programme of industry discussions, workshops, and mentoring meetings
- film screenings
- networking events
This group attendance will help to increase the UK presence of under-represented participants at international markets, and will allow the selected delegates to develop their international networks, and to build relations with potential collaborators and co-producers.
The selected participants will be accompanied by partners from the BFI’s Inclusion team as well as an external access coordinator, all of whom will help to manage their interactions with the market as well as providing on-the-ground coordination, travel and access support. The BFI will also accommodate selected participants to bring their personal assistants where required.
Successful applicants will be provided with an economy return train (or flight, where necessary), reasonable travel within the UK to the international point of departure, local transfers in Rotterdam, 4 nights’ hotel accommodation with breakfast, and industry accreditation.
The cost of international travel between the UK and Rotterdam, and of transfers within Rotterdam, will need to be paid by successful applicants in the first instance, and will be subsequently reimbursed to the successful applicant by the BFI.
For any questions about this group attendance, please contact international@bfi.org.uk.
2. Check if you’re eligible
To apply for this fund you must:
- be a producer, writer, or director, working in the UK screen sector
- on a freelance basis
- in a small to medium sized enterprise (SME) that is not substantially owned by a non-UK entity, broadcaster, streamer or studio
- be a UK resident
- have at least one lead producer, writer, or director credit on a completed short film, feature film, or TV project (in all cases, including documentary and animation) that has been released or broadcast commercially within the last five years.
- identify as disabled — this fund is only open to disabled people
- we use the term disabled to include, Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people and those with long term health and mental health conditions
Get in touch with the team if you’re unsure whether you are eligible for this fund: international@bfi.org.uk
3. What you can use the funding for
The BFI will make ‘in-kind’ awards to successful applicants.
The ‘in-kind’ award will cover:
- 4 nights’ accommodation with breakfast for yourself and (if required) your personal assistant
- return economy train (or flight, where necessary) from the UK to Rotterdam, the Netherlands, up to an amount of £400 for yourself and (if required) your personal assistant
- return transfers in Rotterdam for yourself and (if required) your personal assistant from the international point of departure
- industry accreditation for yourself and (if required) your personal assistant
The BFI will organise the majority of this group attendance on behalf of successful applicants. However, the BFI will ask individuals to make their own international travel arrangements, which will then be reimbursed to them by the BFI.
What you cannot use funding for:
You cannot use funding for:
- subsistence costs other than any stated above (general refreshments, meals, or per diems)
- hotel incidentals
- travel insurance (essential)
- upgrading of flights or train tickets
- any marketing or press activity associated with your attendance at the event
- additional baggage or freight costs associated with attending the event
If you need further access support to take part in the Group Attendance, you’ll be able to apply for these additional costs.
If you’re successful, we’ll let you know the total contribution towards these costs covered by the BFI. This may differ from one initiative to another, and you may be expected to cover some of the cost.
4. BFI principles for funding
All National Lottery awards must deliver against our three principles for National Lottery funding:
Equity, diversity and inclusion: addressing under-representation in perspective and representation, talent and recruitment, agency and opportunities, widening the range of voices and audiences served.
UK-wide: supporting individuals across the UK, increasing the number of projects and screen professionals outside London and the South-East, looking at location and representation.
Environmental sustainability: addressing sustainability both creatively and practically.
All applicants will be required to:
- demonstrate a commitment to sustainability (whether in terms of production or onscreen content) in the proposed projects they are taking to the event; and
- consider how they could make their travel more sustainable.
BFI will:
- consider the types of transport that are funded on each trip, and may not support air travel where an event can be reached by train;
- be unlikely to support travel to an event that can be attended with the same level of benefits through online participation; and
- aim to support attendance at sustainability-related sessions at events.
5. How to apply
When you can apply
Applications close at 10am on Tuesday 1 October 2024
Submitting an application
Complete and submit the application form below.
Make sure you complete all the sections as incomplete forms will be automatically ineligible.
Application completion support
We work with TAPE Community Music and Film to provide access support for people to make applications.
You can get help with:
- accessing our fund guidelines in other formats, like large print or audio
- understanding a fund’s guidelines
- completing an application form
You can get support:
- before applying
- while making an application
- after an application has been submitted, if we ask for more information or a meeting
You can contact TAPE by telephone on 01492 512 109 or use the TAPE website.
Information you need to provide
In the application form you will need to provide the following information:
- your name, address and contact details
- your experience and track record
- demonstrable professional interest and rationale for working and co-producing internationally
- specific projects in active development that could be structured as international co-productions
- co-production experience to date
- why you need National Lottery support
- your response to the BFI’s Principles for Funding
- if you have any access needs, or anything else that you think we need to be aware of when making arrangements
- whether you require a personal assistant when travelling
Equality monitoring
You’ll be asked to complete an equality monitoring form when you submit your application. The form asks for your demographic information. The data that you submit on this form will be confidential and anonymous and not seen by the staff assessing your application. However, we will not be able to put forward your application for assessment until you have completed the equality monitoring form.
If you have any questions when completing the application form, please contact us on international@bfi.org.uk
6. What happens after you apply?
You’ll get confirmation that we have received your application within 1-2 working days. Then you’ll get a decision within three weeks of the closing date.
Once submitted, we will review your application and if necessary, may write to you to obtain more information. If your application is ineligible, we will email to tell you we will not be able to consider it.
How your application is assessed
We are looking for UK producers, writers, or directors who can demonstrate success on an international level or a strong interest in working internationally, and who would strongly benefit from attendance at IFFR Pro. We’ll also consider whether an applicant has a current project in development that could be structured as a viable international co-production.
This opportunity is only open to applications from disabled people.
When assessing your application, we will consider:
- the level of relevant experience (including in international co-production) and track record
- evidence of your interest and need to find international partners
- commitment to, and justification for, co-producing internationally
- how you have managed any previous BFI awards
- your demonstration of need for National Lottery funding
- how you have addressed the BFI Principles for Funding
Applications will be assessed by members of the BFI’s International and Inclusion teams. We may share parts of your application with other BFI teams or external consultants to help us assess it.
How we prioritise applications
We’ll prioritise applicants with the strongest combination of experience and demonstrable professional interest and need to connect with international counterparts at IFFR Pro, together with a clear demonstration of need for National Lottery funding.
We’ll also pay particular attention to applicants who have not previously participated in a BFI International Fund delegation or group attendance event, as well as applicants self-identifying as coming from under-represented backgrounds.
Lottery Finance Committee consideration
Once all applications have been assessed, the BFI’s International team will make funding recommendations to our Lottery Finance Committee. This is the final stage of the funding decision process.
We undertake due diligence assessment of all applications we are recommending to the decision-making committee; if we are recommending your application for approval, we will request your full name, address and date of birth to allow us to carry out an identity check.
Please note that this is not a credit check and will not affect your ability to receive credit from other organisations. We will be unable to submit your application to our decision-making committee until we have received your completed form.
Please note that our request for this information is not an indication or confirmation of funding and you will be informed separately of the funding decision on your application. All applicants will be informed in writing of the decision on their application.
7. Getting a decision
If you’re successful
You’ll receive a written offer of funding which you’ll need to sign and return via email to the BFI within 3 working days.
If you’re unsuccessful
We receive a high number of applications that meet our assessment criteria and have to make tough decisions on who to support. We may have turned down your application because we determined that it did not:
- fit our funding aims and outcomes
- demonstrate a strong enough commitment to one or all of the following principles: equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI); environmental sustainability; UK-wide
- demonstrate enough relevant experience
- demonstrate sufficient need for National Lottery support and should be financed by other means
We will keep the data and supporting materials you sent to us in line with our records retention policy.
Feedback on an unsuccessful application
We’re a small team and unfortunately that means we are unable to give feedback to individual applicants. We welcome your feedback on the application process and how we might improve it.
8. Conditions of funding
If you are offered an ‘in-kind’ award from us, in addition to the general conditions of National Lottery Funding, the following conditions will apply to your participation at the event.
If you are selected as a participant, you will be asked to enter into a short agreement confirming your attendance at the event and supplying us with personal details allowing us to make arrangements in your name. We will confirm what costs are being met by BFI, what you need to do and how we expect you to report to us.
As a participant in the Group Attendance, you will be benefiting from a non-cash grant funded through the National Lottery. As an award recipient, we are required to publicise information about you including names and a brief biography.
You will be expected to attend all events, sessions, meetings etc. organised by the BFI and its partners as part of the overall event, and to represent, promote and advocate for the UK screen sector. In doing so, you are expected to act in a collegiate and collaborative manner, adhering to all relevant codes of conduct, including those in use by the relevant festival or market.
If you fail either to attend the event at all or to participate in all of the set sessions within the event, you may be required to reimburse costs incurred on your behalf.
The BFI has anti-bullying, harassment and racism guidance and principles in place and is committed to providing a safe, welcoming, accessible, and inclusive work environment for all our participants, partners and organisers, in-person and online. Our expectation is that every delegate, representative, or partner attending our events, as well as every member of our team, behaves in a respectful, responsible and reasonable way towards colleagues. Any kind of discrimination, abuse, harassment, harmful behaviour or bullying (such as: use of offensive or discriminatory language; intimidating behaviour; micro-aggressions) has no place on our programmes and anyone not observing these principles will be stopped from attending immediately and asked to reimburse the costs incurred by BFI by way of this non-cash grant.
You will be required to promise that you will comply with all applicable laws associated with your attendance at the event and not act in a way which, in our reasonable opinion, might be damaging to the BFI or our partners’ reputations or goodwill whether directly, by association or otherwise.
You will be required to share your findings in the form of two detailed impact reports looking at the impact of your attendance at the event (the first shortly after the event and the second 12 months later) and may additionally be asked to share findings verbally for the benefit of the wider UK film industry at future events to be organised by the BFI.
Questions that will be asked include:
- How many new connections have you made while participating in the opportunity?
- Have you identified potential partners for your current or future projects?
- Has there been commitment to collaboration on your project from potential buyers / financiers?
- Have you attracted a sales agent to the project? (for festival attendance)
- Have you expressed interest in projects that were pitched to you at the market/forum you attended?
- Are you going to board a new project as a co-production partner as a result of this attendance?
- Was ample access provided for this particular trip?
BFI will work with our designated cultural sustainability partner to assess the environmental impact of each trip. To help us do this, as part of the impact report you will be asked to provide us with information on your travel that will enable us to calculate the carbon footprint of the trip as a whole.
9. Delivering against our National Lottery Strategy
All activity funded through BFI International Connections Fund will deliver against the following outcomes of the BFI National Lottery strategy:
- An increase in the international engagement and reach of the UK screen sector
- Creative talent is supported and nurtured, as they emerge and throughout their careers
- Better support available for small and medium-sized enterprises and independents to develop their businesses
- A wider range of stories are told that otherwise wouldn’t be
- People from under-represented groups across the UK can access the support they need to develop their careers and skills
Key performance indicators
The BFI will measure the success of the Connections Fund using the following key performance indicators (KPIs). Each trip will contribute towards the following targets for 2023-2026:
- 75 beneficiaries
- 50% of beneficiaries based outside London
- 25% of beneficiaries new to BFI National Lottery funding
- An increase in UK professionals’ networks and connections
- An increase in collaborations (including co-productions) involving UK partners
- Increased ability of beneficiaries to attract partners and financing to their projects
- Increased exposure and visibility of projects originating from the UK at global events, enhancing the potential of them being:
- made (for projects in development);
- sold and distributed outside of the UK (for completed projects without sales representation); or
- further exhibited outside the UK (short films)
Diversity of beneficiaries
- Disability (including those identifying as D/deaf or neurodiverse, and those with a longstanding physical or mental diagnosis) 18%
- Ethnically diverse (London) 40%
- Ethnically diverse (outside London) 30%
- Gender (50-50 balance of male and female identifying within the gender binary) 50%
- LGBTQIA+ (including those identifying outside the gender binary) 10%
- Working class background 39%
Diversity standards
All of the activity supported by our funding is informed by the BFI Diversity Standards. We champion projects and activity that meaningfully tackle under-representation in relation to disability, gender, race, age, sexual identity and socio-economic status, while also considering the interactions of these identities and any other barriers to opportunity.