The British Film Institute (BFI) is rolling out a funding program that’s aimed at supporting experienced UK producers looking to branch out into ‘immersive’ projects that use tech such as virtual reality and augmented reality. 

The new Expanded Screen Fund offers up to US$200,000 for projects that use these technologies to create “imagined worlds, events or characters” that provide audiences with an interactive narrative experience. 

Applications for the Expanded Screen Fund are open now until June 3. 

The BFI is launching the fund to create a framework for filmmakers exploring these types of tech-focused projects, and to encourage more experimentation in storytelling, Mia Bays, director of the BFI Filmmaking Fund said in a release. 

Augmented reality (like Pokémon GO) has been growing as a potential way to immerse kids into stories and games. VR, however, while long heralded as the potential next big thing, has yet to really take off in the kids space. This is partly because leading headset manufacturers, including Sony and Samsung, say their product should only be used by kids 12 and up. 

Funding for underrepresented animators

Meanwhile, for creators early in their careers, Film London’s production financing program FLAMIN Animations is now accepting applications. The fund is for creators who are part of what in the UK is called the “global majority”: talent who are of African, Asian, Indigenous, Latin American or mixed-heritage backgrounds. The fund is aimed at addressing the lack of representation for these artists in the animation industry, and provides creators with roughly US$4,700 to create a three-minute animated short. 

Selected artists will also receive mentorship and animation masterclasses, which London-based studio Blinkink is supporting. Blinkink’s long-form entertainment division is Blink Industries, the team that worked on Dead End: Paranormal Park (Netflix) and an episode of Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire (Disney+). Projects made through the program have previously gone on to screen at festivals around the world, including Annecy, according to Film London. The application deadline is May 25th.

Image courtesy of BFI.