FilmClub, BIFAs and Watershed Bristol among biggest beneficiaries of first round of BFI funding

In its first round of awards, the BFI Transition Fund is to provide funding support to 37 projects across the UK worth £888,547.

The Transition Fund for Audience Development, worth £2m, was set up by the BFI to support the industry in the wake of significant cuts to the UK film landscape announced by the government last year.

The first round of projects to be funded “all demonstrated that their funding for core activities has been significantly reduced or withdrawn for the financial year 2011-12”, according to a release from the BFI.

FilmClub, the nationwide after-school film club which introduces specialised film into schools, was the biggest beneficiary, receiving £141,000. Cross arts venue Watershed in Bristol received £67,500.

The British Independent Film Awards received £52,718 while short film festival Encounters Bristol International Film Festival saw an investment of £50,000, considerably more than the beleaguered Edinburgh International Film Festival which only saw £17,000 through a fast-track assessment process last month.

The Sheffield International Documentary Festival also received funding last month,worth £77,000.

The next round of projects to be awarded transition funding will be announced before the end of July.

The Transition Fund, which derived from previously unallocated money, was set up to assist UK film bodies damaged by the 50% reduction in grant-in-aid funding suffered by the UKFC shortly before it was merged with the BFI, an Arts Council England funding reduction and local councils tightening their arts spending.

Peter Buckingham, head of distribution and exhibition at the BFI, said: “We have moved as swiftly as possible to ensure that film organisations are able to survive in this period of transition, and that audiences can continue to benefit from the important work that they do. Collectively these organisations contribute hugely to the access and promotion of film in the UK. They are incredibly valuable which is why it has been important for the BFI to help them.”

A full list of projects awarded funding by the Transition Fund is below:

AV Festival – £20,000

BIFAs/British Independent Film Awards – £ 52,718

Birmingham International Film Society – £8,000

Borderlines Film Festival – £11,025

British Federation of Film Societies – £46,350

Canterbury Anifest – £2,790

Chichester International Film Festival – £3,500

Cornerhouse Manchester – £18,000

Edinburgh International Film Festival – £19,620

Encounters Bristol International Film Festival – £50,000

Fashion in Film – £17,559

FilmClub – £141,000

Flicks in the Sticks – £6,210

Glasgow Film Theatre – £7,182

ICA, London – £23,100

Kendal Mountain Festival – £19,350

Leeds Film – £35,000

Light House, Wolverhampton – £12,124

London Metropolitan Archives – £19,000

London Short Film Festival – £1,800

Assembly Rooms Ludlow – £4,100

mac Birmingham – £8,700

National Media Museum – £38,700

ONEDOTZERO – £15,890

PBQ – £20,000

Phoenix Square, Leicester – £ 9,000

Portland Green Cultural Projects – £14,361

Queen’s Film Theatre, Belfast – £20,000

The Sensoria Festival – £9,980

Sheffield International Documentary Festival – £ 77,452

Showroom Cinema, Sheffield – £ 9,900

Southend-on-Sea Film Festival – £20,000

Strode Theatre, Somerset – £ 17,227

Tricycle Theatre, London – £10,134

Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle – £ 22,275

Watershed, Bristol – £67,500

YourLocalCinema.com – £9,000

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