Apply for the Film Hub Midlands Show Fund – Deadline September 13th

Our priorities for the Film Audience Network under BFI2022 are as follows:

• Engaging audiences – maximising the number of audiences engaging with FAN activity and increasing the quality and cultural depth of their experience
• Broadening film choice – increasing access to a wide range of independent British and international film for audiences – especially those outside London
• Diversity – increasing the diversity of audiences engaging with FAN activity
• Young audiences – boosting participation of 16-30 year olds in FAN activity
• Screen heritage – facilitating greater access to archive content with a particular focus on national and regional collections

If you are in the business of showing films, and would like support to expand your programme and audience, or have an ambitious project you would like to get off the ground – please submit an Expression of Interest.

In particular reflecting our priorities, we are especially keen to work with organisations who want to reach young audiences, and or those from BAMER communities, those who identify as LGBTQ+, those with access needs, or who are from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Expression of Interest Open – Monday 19 August
Expression of Interest Deadline – Friday 13 September
Activity Delivered – From October 2019

We will be reopening the Show fund in Spring 2020.

Available Funds

As a guide we anticipate making awards between £2,500 and £15,000, but please refer to the guide below to see where your project fits in terms of scale. We want our projects to reach as many people as possible, and we always consider the value we provide per screening and audience member. As a guide we suggest the following awards would aim to reach the accompanying number of audiences. This is a guide and we do anticipate flexibility.

Amount Awarded: £2,500, Anticipated Admissions: 500

Amount Awarded: £5,00, Anticipated Admissions: 1,100

Amount Awarded: £75,00, Anticipated Admissions: 1,750

Amount Awarded: £10,000, Anticipated Admissions: 2,500

Supported Projects

We will review each project submitted individually, but broadly, we can support the following:

• Screening Costs
• Archive Access Costs
• Marketing & Promotion
• Project Coordination
• Curation Costs

Our Show Fund funding is primarily for audience development therefore we are unable to support film production, distribution, publications, showcases, or talent development activity. Unless you can demonstrably prove why your event cannot happen otherwise, we will not support events that are exclusively free to audiences.

BFI Diversity Standards

All of our projects must be open and accessible. In order to reach the widest possible audience through our supported projects, we are committed to the BFI Diversity Standards. The standards can be broken down broadly into the following four areas:

• Industry access or training (ensuring that we offer accessible opportunities through our projects and organisations).
• On screen (diverse narratives, cast and places depicted).
• Catering for audiences (provision of disability access, specialist projects for target audiences, providing for specific UK regions etc).
• A diverse crew (exploring who makes the films we screen and offers project leadership).

Submit Your Expression of Interest

We’ve provided an Expression of Interest form for everyone to use. Hopefully you’ll find this makes the process straightforward, letting you tell us the information we need in the shortest time possible. Our aim is to offer a welcoming, transparent, and engaging Hub; so we’d like to emphasise that an Expression of Interest is not an application, but the start of a conversation on how we might collaborate. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you would like some guidance on the templates.

We do ask you also complete an indicative budget template for your project, with the understanding that it will have flexibility as the project progresses. 

We recommend that you always contact us ahead of submitting an EOI, so we can talk you through the process, and help you determine which fund is best for you. You must be a member of Film Hub Midlands to receive our support, joining is free and quick to do: filmhubmidlands.org/join. If we’re unable to support you this time round, then we’ll offer feedback and advice to help you move forward.

How we assess your project

All projects are reviewed by an assessment panel that includes Film Hub Midlands and our advisory board. We’ll look at your proposal to make a decision about whether we can support it. As part of this we will consider:

• How well the project meets our objectives;
• The creative quality of the idea, partnerships and team behind it;
• Whether it will reach the priority audiences for BFI FAN
• Value for money including subsidy-per-head
• Potential legacy and long term impact

Successful Projects

If we like your project, we’ll be in touch and work with you to firm up your project and its budget. Once we are all happy with the plan, we will send an agreement to confirm the terms of your award, and the project you will deliver. As this award will be coming from National Lottery Funds we want to be clear about what will be expecting from you. When you receive your agreement it will contain points on branding and evaluation and reporting.