BFI unveils good causes funding

The British Film Institute (BFI) has published a three-year National Lottery funding strategy outlining how it will distribute its good causes funding to the screen industries.

The plan was published alongside Screen Culture 2023, the organisation’s 10-year strategy which outlines its intention to become a “resilient, sustainable, digital-first and diverse organisation with a plurality of voices”.

The BFI is retaining its existing share of good causes funding from the National Lottery of 2.7% but a drop in public spending on the lottery means its projected pot will be £45m in 2022/23, around £5m less than in 2021/22.

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The BFI’s £136m funding plan, which will come into effect from April 2023, earmarks £54m for filmmakers over three years, £34.2m for education and skills and £27.6m for audience and development.

Screen heritage work is forecast to receive £10m through to 2026, £7.3m has been ringfenced for innovation and industry services and £3.2m for international activities.

Exact details of specific funds and programmes are expected in the coming months.

The planned distribution means funding to some areas is set to decrease – the £18m a year for filmmakers is less than the 2022/23 BFI Film Fund budget of £25m. The BFI says it will inform its funding decisions through the strategy's three core principles of promoting equity, diversity and inclusion, delivering funding UK-wide and considering environmental sustainability.

In the strategy’s foreword, Chief Executive Ben Roberts said the BFI will “have to do more with less”.

“At a time when economic pressures are affecting people’s lives and industry resilience, our commitment to deliver against the National Lottery’s good causes mandate has never been more important,” he added.

The National Lottery currently gives 20% of its good causes funding to the arts. This could be set to increase once new lottery operator Allwyn takes over the contract in February 2024, as the provider said they may increase funding for the arts earlier this year.

The BFI says it will release two further funding plans over the next 10 years.

Financial resilience

The BFI’s 10-year strategy includes ambition to increase its own income by 10% by 2033, its centenary year.

In the strategy's foreword, Roberts said: “If we don’t take the appropriate action now, we will have a growing financial challenge for years to come”.

The pandemic is highlighted as a causing “a significant gap in projected finances” and the BFI's grant-in-aid from DCMS, which is forecast to stay at £14.9m through to 2023/24, is now representing a real-terms cut when adjusted for inflation.

The report also describes the current fundraising landscape as “challenging” but outlines opportunities for growth and development. Since the BFI published its last strategy in 2017, the UK’s screen industry has more than doubled in size, with film and high-end television production spend in the UK worth £5.6bn last year, compared with £2.2bn in 2017, and is projected to reach £7.3bn by 2025.

Digital development is highlighted as a key focus, with the strategy stating intent to invest in physical and digital estates while looking to evolve the BFI into a “digital-first organisation”.

“The potential to deliver more of our work digitally presents us with a huge and transformative cultural opportunity,” Roberts said.

“We can build a more diverse BFI than ever, have broader reach and engagement with audiences, and unlock a major source of future income.”

Digital expansion could take the shape of developing the existing BFI player into BFI+, a new streaming platform accessible on at-home devices which the BFI hopes it can launch by securing a one-off investment within the next three years.

Key ambitions

Growing its digital platforms is one of six key ambitions featured in the Screen Culture vision, alongside diversifying the BFI audience, embracing a wider screen culture, reframing the public’s relationship with the nation’s screen heritage, developing long-term strategies for education and skills and growing the cultural and economic impact of the UK’s screen industries.

The strategy also includes a commitment to supporting screen industries outside of film, including video games and extended reality, with building a case for government and industry support for these sectors planned in the first three years of the strategy.

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said she was delighted to see the BFI’s vision “to open up more of its collections, boost people's skills and help generate growth in the UK's cutting-edge and globally renowned screen industries.”

“Alongside our work in government, this long-term plan will help ensure the UK is a great place to make film, television and video games in the future.”