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.
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.
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.
Preview documents to read to help you prepare for your application*
* Documents are provided in PDF and word format for access purposes and are for preview only. All applications needs to be filled in on our application portal via your account.
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.
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 Word document.
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:
This Easy Read Introduction is a summary of information and does not supersede the main funding guidelines. If you want to apply for the Made of Truth: BFI Doc Society Short Film Fund you must read the full guidelines.
Easy Read introduction to the Made of Truth: BFI Doc Society Short Film Fund
You can listen to an audio version of the fund guidelines on Soundcloud.
We encourage all potential applicants to the BFI Doc Society to join our mailing list to receive the latest funding news, talent support, events and opportunities across the documentary sector.
Find us on @TheDocSociety
As part of our delegate partnership with the BFI between 2018-2023, we were proud to fund 50 short documentaries. You can find out more about the films and filmmakers we supported in our Film Directory. You can also find more detailed information about the previous fund in our BFI Doc Society Review 2018-2023.
Develop your network and connect with the BFI Doc Society fund team. We work in close partnership with BFI NETWORK around the UK to meet filmmakers where you are.
Other sources of support
If you are looking for fiction film funding or related professional development opportunities, contact the BFI NETWORK partner in your nation or region to find out more about their funding for new filmmakers.
Explore resources tailored to support documentary filmmaking and filmmakers