Made of Truth is NOW OPEN for applications until Tuesday 27 June at 12.00pm (noon) BST.
The Made of Truth: BFI Doc Society Short Film Fund invites emerging storytellers from all parts of the UK to share original and adventurous non-fiction stories that respond to the changing world around us.
Since 2018, the Made of Truth: BFI Doc Society Short Film Fund (“Made of Truth”) has proudly supported 50 original, short documentaries. We’re delighted to open for a new round of funding and to discover new voices from across the UK over the next 3 years.
WHAT THE FUND CAN SUPPORT
Made of Truth is part of BFI NETWORK and uses National Lottery funds to support all forms of short form non-fiction, including personal stories, hybrid work, artist films, essays, observational and social issue projects. The fund also considers VR and immersive projects which are firmly rooted in the non-fiction form.
The fund can support up to 15 individual short documentaries each year with a maximum of £25,000 of grant funding. Films can be between 5-40 minutes in length.
We’re interested in new, cinematic and boundary-pushing ideas and encourage applications from projects that take creative leaps and filmmaking that takes risks on talent, form and content. The fund recognises the quality of difference in perspective, the importance of who is telling the story and strong collaborations.
In addition to supporting the BFI National Lottery fund objectives, we have introduced four guiding principles that underpin assessment on the fund (detailed fully in our Fund Guidelines), they are:
- Open collaboration: Working collaboratively across the fund and talent support is the best way to learn and to support the documentary field and move beyond centres of power toward a truly distributed knowledge base and field.
- Representing all of UK society: From the ground up, the Fund must be representative of society.
- Freedom of creative expression: Documentary creatives should be able to take smart creative risks on documentary storytelling, in ways that develop and expand the documentary form
- Audience right to culture: Audiences have a right to be able to access film culture and independent documentary belongs in spaces of open dialogue.
WHO CAN APPLY?
We’re looking for emerging creatives who are yet to make a non-fiction feature film. You may have a track record in another form or genre and are keen to make a short that helps develop your talent on the path to long-form documentary filmmaking, or you may have made a documentary short or two already.
Made of Truth supports projects with directors based in the UK. This nation-wide programme endeavours to help more voices in more places contribute to distinctive, original storytelling. We can only fund applicants who are over the age of 18, and who are not in full-time education.
Made of Truth is committed to supporting a diverse community of filmmakers and working with creatives from underserved backgrounds including ethnically diverse, disabled, LGBTQIA+, and working class. We would like to hear from new storytellers from around the country and all communities and are especially keen to increase the number of projects originating outside London and from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
We strongly encourage filmmakers to team up with a producer before applying, however you do not need a producer to apply as we can facilitate partnerships with producers for successful applicants.
HOW THEY SUPPORT FILMMAKERS
Successful projects will receive creative and mentorship support from the BFI Doc Society team, and relevant industry partners. As well as working with filmmakers prior to and during production, we also advise awarded filmmakers on:
- Finding screening opportunities, regionally and further afield
- Potential collaborators for the project
- Festival strategies for the finished project
- Other means to gain industry exposure.
ACCESS SUPPORT
The BFI Doc Society is committed to making its funding accessible to all. TAPE Community Film and Music will be providing individually tailored support for applicants with access needs. Find all the details on what support you can receive and how to get the help required to make an application in this PDF document.
HOW TO APPLY
- Read or listen to the fund guidelines
- Read the preview of the application form and frequently asked questions (FAQ’s)
- Read the guidance and complete your BFI Diversity Standards Form
- Register an account on docsociety.org
- Complete your application on https://app.docsociety.org/apply/
- Submit your application by Tuesday 27 June at 12.00pm (noon) BST.
GOT ANY QUESTIONS?
- Read the fund guidelines and our fund FAQ’s which aim to address questions asked regularly by applicants.
- Email us on hello@docsociety.org
- Register for our Made of Truth: BFI Doc Society Short Film Fund Webinar on Tuesday 6 June 12pm – 1pm
- Register for a 15 minute, 1-2-1 Application Surgery with a member of the BFI Doc Society team. Find a date and time for a session.
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