PHOEBE FRANCES BROWN

Phoebe Frances Brown was a hugely talented writer and performer who lost her battle with brain cancer in April 2022 aged just 29. She brought immense wit and warmth to all her work on stage and screen and was a founder member of the all-female comedy collective Major Labia.

THE FUND

The Phoebe Frances Brown Film Fund is a £1000 grant that Mister Tibbs will award to an up and coming female filmmaker with a comedy idea they want to produce.

So if you’re a writer, director, producer, performer, animator, or some combination of those disciplines, if you identify as female, and if you make comedy, then we want to hear from you.

To apply there are two things we need from you. A written statement and an example of your work.

YOUR STATEMENT should be 500 words tops (or you can record a 3 minute video/audio clip if you find that easier). Your statement should give us a sense of your filmmaking experience to date, what you aim to achieve in your career and how this grant might help move you towards those goals. Tell us a bit about the project you want to make and how £1000 would help you produce it.

YOUR WORK SAMPLE can be anything: an unmade script, a previous sketch, a short film or a live show excerpt. Show us something that you’ve created which gives us a sense of your voice and your tone (and please send links not large attachments wherever possible).

TIMELINE

• The deadline for applications is Friday June 16th 2023.
• Mister Tibbs will arrange follow up conversations with shortlisted applicants through July.
• The winner will be informed on Friday August 4th 2023.
• Mister Tibbs will screen your work to industry professionals in London and in Manchester in January 2024 but they can only do so if you deliver your finished film on or before December 31st.

Please note: this grant is only available to applicants who identify as female. You must be based in the UK and aged 18 or over to apply.

Please also note: Hampstead Theatre and Nottingham Playhouse run a very similar scheme for new playwrights called “The Phoebe Frances Brown Award”. So if you write for stage you might be better served by their scheme than by the one by Mister Tibbs, which is strictly for screen.

You can apply to the Phoebe Frances Brown Film Fund by submitting an application form HERE.

For more industry information, visit Film Birmingham’s news page. Or add us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

Call BCC 12 – International

The call is dedicated to teams of director and producer, from all over the world. Biennale College Cinema will select nine international microbudget projects and their teams will be invited to participate in a 10 day workshop in Venice.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

This initiative consists of the selection and development of 9 micro-budget projects and the production of up to 3 audiovisual works and presentation during the Venice International Film Festival. The selection will be made by the Artistic Director of the Cinema Sector of La Biennale di Venezia, whose decision will be final, assisted in the various phases by a staff of consultants of his own choosing. The audiovisual concepts will be developed from every point of view, focusing not only on the artistic development, but also on the audience design. This means addressing a specific, even niche, audience from the earliest phases of the development of the film. The program will also focus on the production and budget control.

PARTICIPANTS

We will select up to 9 micro-budget concepts/ideas presented by international teams consisting of a director and a producer, with no age limit and with the following:

• The application  must be submitted exclusively by a team of a producer and a director.  There is no participation or registration fee.
• It is mandatory that the team that applies, if selected, is the same team that participates in the workshop and if awarded the grant continues together to produce the film.
• The directors, at their debut or second audio-visual work, must present themselves in tandem with producers who have already produced at least 3 audio-visual works (including short film, web docs, web series, music videos, advertisements, etc.) If the producer has already produced a feature-length fiction or documentary film distributed and/ or presented at Festivals, they are still eligible to participate in the Call.
• Teams that have previously submitted an application to the previous Biennale College Cinema editions will not be able to re-apply with the same project. Participants who were selected for the workshops of the previous Biennale College Cinema editions will not be accepted again.

DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED FOR APPLICATIONS (to be presented in English):

• A Synopsis (1 page, max 350 words or 1.800 characters)
• Treatment for a micro-budget project (5-10 pages, max 3.500 words or 18.000 characters) that fully describes the project. It can be a feature film, an animation, a documentary – all genres eligible and a statement outlining how the project will explore the micro-budget aesthetic –what particular challenges the film team is looking to explore in terms of form and content. (No more than one page). To be presented in the same file of the treatment.
• Director’s Vision: it can be represented by a mood board, a project-book (few pages of a storyboard, a colour script, a series of drawings or photographs) or by a video (max 3 minutes). It visually complements the written concept, and describes the project through images.
• Previous works by the director (max 2) digital or on film, to be uploaded directly on the website, with english subtitles
• Casting Idea (1 page, max 350 words or 1.800 characters).
• Total Budget up to a maximum of € 200.000,00
• Biographies and filmographies of the director and the producer. The filmography needs to include the following information: all previous works including the title, year, length of film, genre (documentary or fiction) and role in the production.
• Production Company Profile.
• Video-Pitch Presentation, in English, by the director (max 3 minutes)
• Audience Engagement Plan (1 page, max 350 words or 1.800 characters), which describes how to create audience awareness through on-line communities.
• Rights Disclosure with regards to full ownership of rights to the submitted project or, should the rights of third parties be involved, a guarantee that the acquisition of all rights in view of production has been concluded or is currently being negotiated. In the latter case the cost must be indicated in the budget, cannot exceed the total of € 200.000,00.
• Signed agreement between the producer and the director confirming their willing to complete the project within the requirement and schedule of the program.
• Confirmation that the project has not being supported already with finance for development or production.
• List of training courses and events in which the project has circulated already.

Please complete the application form HERE by 3rd July 2023.

DATES, VENUES, TIMELINE

The selected teams will be involved in a series of on-line and off-line activities, starting from July 2023 up to the Venice International Film Festival in 2024.

• 3 May 2023 – Call for Applications “BCC 12 – International”
• 3 July 2023 (23:59 CET) – Deadline for applications “BCC 12 – International”
• 30 August – 9 September 2023 – Announcement of the 12 selected teams: 3 from “BCC 12 – Italia” and 9 from “BCC 12 – International”
• 19 September 2023 – Deadline for delivery of detailed step outline and production documents.
• 7 – 16 October 2023 (travel dates: October 6^th  e 17^th ) in Venice – workshop for the selected teams (3 Italian and 9 International).
• 10 November 2023– Deadline for all 12 project-teams to deliver 1st draft scripts, budgets and schedules.
• by 24 November 2023 –  Notification of the results
• 4 – 7 December 2023 (travel dates: December 3^rd  e 8^th ) in Venice – workshop dedicated to script development.
• 3 January 2024 – Delivery of 2nd draft script, updated budget, shooting & production schedule.
• 10–17 January 2024 – on-line workshop dedicated to pre-production
• 11 July 2024 – All film projects to have screened final cut to Festival director
• 16 August 2024 – Delivery date for the Venice International Festival

For more details about BCC 12, visit their website HERE.

For more industry information, visit Film Birmingham’s news page. Or add us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

SHORT FILM FINALLY FOUND A HOME

FUNDING . SHOWCASING . CONNECTING.

Genera Films was born from pure desire to help filmmakers get their short films made.

Initially, that was by offering a new type of funding opportunity, one with an accessible application process and waiving the right for any creative in put on the projects we support.

On becoming a Pro Genera Films member, filmmakers will receive a free funding application for one of our short film funding rounds. Up to £5,000 can be applied for to help with development, production, post-production and/or film festival costs.

If you’re just looking for funding without becoming a member, you can simply apply by paying the non members one-off application fee of £40-£50 to one of our funding rounds – which are open for submission 365 days a year.

FUNDING ROUNDS

Filmmakers around the world can apply for our funding rounds for their short films. The rounds are open 365 days a year, with up to £5,000 up for grabs. The dates of the funding rounds are on their home page.

Pro Genera Films members receive a free funding application annually.

HOW TO APPLY

Sign up to Genera Films either as a Pro member or Non-Pro member HERE.

Once you have signed up, you can submit an application using their simple form.

For more industry information, visit Film Birmingham’s news page. Or add us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

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?

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

1. Read or listen to the fund guidelines
2. Read the preview of the application form and frequently asked questions (FAQ’s)
3. Read the guidance and complete your BFI Diversity Standards Form
4. Register an account on docsociety.org
5. Complete your application on https://app.docsociety.org/apply/
6. 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.

For more industry information, visit Film Birmingham’s news page. Or add us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

The Performance Short Film Competition is back for its sixth consecutive year! They have five categories and £1,000 for each winner.

THE PERFORMANCE SHORT FILM COMPETITION IS BACK!

Now in its sixth year, this exciting competition is back for 2023, with the winner of each category receiving £1,000 to fund their creative vision. And following the success of last year’s event, they’re thrilled to confirm an exclusive event in a brand-new location to celebrate our finalists.

Performance Film & Media Insurance have played a supporting role in the film industry for more than 25 years, and they’re excited to help create new opportunities for filmmakers like you.

Since they launched this competition in 2018, they’ve helped to fund the creation of 24 short films. The calibre of entries to our Short Film Competition just keeps getting better, so we can’t wait to see your submissions this year.

THE CATEGORIES

• Best Comedy Short
• Best ‘Short’ Short (less than 5 minutes in length)
• Best Documentary Short
• Best Horror Short
• Best Drama Short

HOW TO ENTER

To enter the competition, your short film needs to:

• Have been completed after 1^st January 2022
• Have a maximum running time of 20 minutes
• Be supplied as a Vimeo link
• Be submitted no later than the closing date: 10^th August 2023

COMPETITION TIMELINE

• Competition Opens: Thursday 1st June 2023
• Entries Close: Thursday 10th August 2023
• Judging To Begin: Thursday 17th August 2023
• Shortlist Announced: Tuesday 17th October 2023
• Exclusive event to announce the winners: Thursday 9th November 2023

Enter the competition HERE.

Terms and conditions HERE.

For more industry information, visit Film Birmingham’s news page. Or add us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

Birmingham School of Art and Eastside Projects invite applications from visual artists for an Incidental Artists placement in Birmingham supported by the Wheatley Fine Art Fellowship.

INCIDENTAL ARTISTS

‘When setting out a new allotment you should always think first about where you will sit.” Vanley Burke, artist, Birmingham.

Artists are catalysts. They are the dreamers and doers, collaborators and supporters, guests and hosts who work alongside communities to imagine and co-evolve our civic infrastructure.

In the mid-1960s the Artist Placement Group (APG) proposed and made strenuous efforts to radically transform artists’ relation to society. Adopting the role of the incidental person, the group proposed getting involved in the processes of other organisations, from steel factories to government offices. APG considered artists a hugely underused human creative resource that offered a potential benefit of tangential thinking and making. They are interested in both this function of artists ‘to watch the doings and listen to the noises’ and APG’s concept of the open brief.  They are further exploring these approaches by inviting Incidental Artists to work with us as allies, collaborators, agents of wider change, and attention magnets in a variety of contexts over an extended period of time. Find out more HERE.

ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP

This opportunity is not imagined as an Incidental Artist placement at either the School of Art or Eastside Projects, but as a placement in Birmingham supported by and connecting to, both organisations.

It is expected that the Fellowship will culminate in a public outcome/s that will be developed with Eastside Projects and presented as part of the programme. The form this takes will be defined during the feasibility and development stages, but for example it might emerge as a participatory project, public artwork, exhibition, events programme, performance, or digital work.

The Incidental Artist will also be expected to engage with students at the school during their Fellowship, but again what this looks like will be developed during the Feasibility Study stage.

The Incidental Artist will be expected to commit at least 40 days across this period to the Fellowship supported by:

• £10,000 fee (£9000 tax free stipend from the Wheatley Fellowship and £1000 additional project fee from Eastside Projects).
• Up to £10,000 production budget to realise the public outcome.
• Access to workshops, equipment and technical support at the School of Art, with the potential to connect into wider facilities, departments and research networks across Birmingham City University.
• Desk space at Eastside Projects and/or the School of Art.
• Introductions to individuals, networks and communities connected to both the School of Art and Eastside Projects in Birmingham and beyond.
• Artistic, collaborative and curatorial support from Eastside Projects.

ELIGABILITY

To apply you need to:

• Be based in the UK.
• Have at least three years professional experience as an artist.
• Not be enrolled on a BA, MA or PHD course between November 2023 and December 2024.

They particularly welcome applications from artists who have Black, Asian, or Global Majority heritage, who are from lower socio-economic backgrounds, or who are disabled or d/Deaf.

Find full details of the application process, including a link to the online application platform, in the info pack HERE

KEY DATES

• Online Pre Application Workshop: Thursday 25 May, 12.30–1.30pm
• Application Deadline: Sunday 18 June, midnight
• Interviews: Wednesday 12 July – in person in Birmingham or on Zoom.
• Start date: November 2023
• Public Outcome: Late 2024 – timeline to be agreed as the project proposal develops.

APPLICATION PROCESS

They have designed the application process to reflect the time, energy and effort of application making and acknowledge this is unpaid labour. They aim to keep the application process to a minimum and so are asking for initial expressions of interest through an online form.

Please submit your application for the Wheatley Fellowship using an online portal which you will find HERE.

If you have any issues uploading your application please contact us on info@eastsideprojects.org. Please note they work Tuesday to Friday.

They strongly advise you to prepare everything in advance, and then upload it to avoid losing information.

They will give individual feedback to all shortlisted applicants who are interviewed, but anticipate receiving a large number of applications so unfortunately cannot offer feedback to everyone who applies.

For more industry information, visit Film Birmingham’s news page. Or add us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.