On the back of a reduced travel market and near-nil festival attendance for the previous year, the British Film Institute (BFI) has announced it will be channeling funds into a new one-year, ring-fenced fund to promote new non-English indie films. This represents a collaboration with industry stalwarts, including the Film Distributors Association and the UK Cinema Association. It will be administered under the existing BFI Audience Fund. Here’s what BLAKE & WANG P.A Entertainment Lawyer Los Angeles has found out for interested indie producers.
Brandon Blake– Entertainment lawyer
This one-year ring-fenced fund has open applications now, so if the project interests you, you will need to move. Applicants must show that they meet the Audience Fund’s existing objectives of widening audience choices and promoting diversity. And, of course, meeting the language criteria.
The Audience Fund has, on average, helped bring six non-English titles to life a year since it first began working in 2017. It’s no small list, either. Minari and Parasite both were birthed with BFI support, alongside Shoplifters, A Fantastic Woman, And Then We Danced, and the much-anticipated Night of the Kings.
Why now? In their own words, “In a year where international travel is limited, we’re bringing the world to audiences.” The one-year fund recognizes the hardships faced by smaller foreign-language titles, especially with distribution and the exhibition environment, during the tumult of 2020. The funding hopes to balance some of this setback and help ensure these indie projects can rebuild competitively in the sector over the next year.
If you’re an independent producer in this niche, now is the time to act to apply to the fund, so don’t hesitate. Overall, this is a worthy addition to the funding field for the industry, and BLAKE & WANG P.A will be watching with interest to see what projects it brings to life.
Film and Television 