Can your cinema generate more than great screenings? ⚡
In this free BFI FAN Green Hour we'll hear from community energy experts on how cinemas can be catalysts for renewable investment.
It's your last chance to join us on Wednesday 11 March - sign up here: bit.ly/4aGVTmZ 🌱
Text reads: ‘In-person Filmmaker Roundtable. Manchester, 26 March, Manchester Film Festival, Meet the team behind Misper. Three colourful cinema tickets below read ‘writer’, ‘producer’, and ‘director’. Background is a blurred pink circle with a green diagonal stripe. Film Hub North logo to top right.
Heading to Manchester Film Festival this month? Don’t miss our special in-person roundtable with Misper director Harry Sherriff and writer Laurence Tratalos, a chance to talk craft, careers and the festival circuit with emerging filmmakers.
Places are limited: bit.ly/40cfkhK 🎬🤝
Text reads: ‘Film Exhibition Fund: Pitch Pot open’. Photograph from sunset screening at The Dukes shows a seated crowd facing a large screen outdoors, with overhead string lights. BFI FAN NETWORK and the National Lottery logos to bottom.
Test new ideas! Reach new audiences! Our Film Exhibition Fund: Pitch Pot supports organisations to experiment with their film programming through micro-grants of up to £3,000. Proposals are now open and you can submit on a rolling basis: bit.ly/pitchpot 🚀
10 places are available for Film Hub North members.
Register your interest by Friday 13 March: bit.ly/4aIlNFG
#FilmExhibition #AudienceStrategy #NorthernCinema
Text reads ‘Rethinking Organisation Structure and Audience Development’, ‘Thursday 9 April, Hyde Park Picture House’. Exterior photograph of Hyde Park Picture House, a red brick building with white columns and window frames, with the cinema’s name displayed in red lettering. Film Hub North logo to bottom left.
Audience development doesn’t happen in one department – it takes a whole organisation. 💪
Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at how Hyde Park Picture House adapted their community strategy, building, and more to grow their audiences since reopening.
Text reads: ‘Online Filmmaker Roundtable. 11 March, 12:00, Learn more about the BFI NETWORK Short Film Fund’. Three colourful cinema tickets below read ‘writer’, ‘producer’, and ‘director’. Background is a blurred pink circle with a green diagonal stripe. Film Hub North logo to top right.
Join us on Wednesday 11 March for an informal session where we’ll break down what the BFI NETWORK Short Film Fund is and what we’re looking for in the projects we support.
Places are limited, RSVP here: http://bit.ly/fhn-round🎟️
#ShortFilm #Filmmakers #FilmFunding #Roundtable
We welcome applications for amounts from £5,000 up to a maximum of £25,000. Funding is supplemented by creative oversight from our BFI NETWORK Talent Executives who will advise on screening opportunities, collaborators, festival strategy and more.
The BFI NETWORK England's Short Film Fund closes next month! The fund supports the production costs of standalone fiction shorts in live action, animation and immersive/virtual reality, from Northern filmmaking teams. Deadline Wednesday 18 March 2026 (11am). bit.ly/fhn-sff 💥 💰
From tender portraits of sisterhood and resilient community stories to surreal quests and cosmic encounters – Northern Exposure captures the creative spirit of our region. Get your tickets:
Text reads: ‘Film Hub North Presents: Northern Exposure’ ‘Manchester 12 March, Chester 17 March, Leeds 25 March, Kendal 27 March’. Still from Char Bahnien features four women, dressed in colourful Pakistani clothing, relaxing together in an intimate living room scene. Film Hub North and BFI Film Academy logos to bottom.
Northern Exposure is back! 🔥 Join us in Chester, Kendal, Leeds and Manchester as we celebrate the best of Northern short film, hand-picked by our brilliant Young Film Programmers. bit.ly/4pZY0qp
You'll step onto the set of contemporary drama Shy & Lola, getting an inside look at how broadcast TV is made.
The deadline is almost here – apply by this Friday 27 February (5pm) https://bit.ly/fhn-nd 🤩⏳
#NorthernDirectors #FilmHubNorth #BBC #DirectorsWanted
Text reads ‘25/26 Northern Directors. A shadowing and mentoring programme for new directors in the North’. Text sits on background of colourful stripes.
It’s your final call. That Northern Directors application won’t send itself, and we really want to see it! 🚀
We’re teaming up with the BBC and Clerkenwell Films to give two emerging short-form directors a paid shadowing and mentoring placement on a TV production. https://bit.ly/fhn-nd
The aim of the online mixer – on Thursday 5 March – is to start meaningful partnerships with our writers to develop their shorts for future funding. You don't have to be based in the North or have worked with animation before to join us.
#Animation #ProducerCall #ShortFilm #NorthernFilm
Alternative text: Text reads ‘Meet the animators: producer mixer: ‘for producers looking for their next short film’. Still from Bernard shows three clay stop-motion figures seated inside a bus: one is dressed in an octopus costume.
Final call for producers looking to develop their next animation story! 🔔
We're on the hunt for producers to meet our Animation Development Lab writers as they work on exciting short-form projects.
Register your interest by Monday 23 February: bit.ly/4qjFLfW
And if you can’t make it, we’re running additional drop-in sessions throughout March to help with any queries about your proposal. Book your slot:
Text reads: ‘Film Exhibition Fund drop-ins: 1-2-1s, Marketing & Budgeting’. Film Hub North, BFI FAN NETWORK and the National Lottery logos to bottom. Photograph features audience watching a close-up image of a person's face on a screen at Scarborough Film Festival.
Got questions about the marketing or budget sections of your Film Exhibition Fund proposal? Join our member drop-in session on Tuesday 24 February to chat directly with our team and gain practical insights to improve your proposal. Sign up: bit.ly/fhn-fef 🎬
Hear from John Taylor (Community Energy England) on how to scale partnerships with the creative sector, and Hilary Powell and Dan Edelstyn (Optimistic Foundation) on how cinemas can lead local investment in renewables.
What if your cinema could power itself and its community? 🔋
With venues facing rising bills, this timely BFI FAN Green Hour explores how partnering with community energy can reduce costs, lower carbon and build a resilient local future.
Wednesday 11 March: sign up here bit.ly/4aGVTmZ 💡
Get your proposal in shape with our free online support for members, from one-to-one consultations to a focused marketing and budgeting session – more details on our website.
We’re looking to support bold, audience-focused projects that bring people together for shared, in-person screenings and experiences. All members of our network can apply for up to £10k per project, helping cover costs from programming to marketing and audience development.
Text reads: ‘Film Exhibition Fund open’. Photograph from FACT Liverpool Cinema in the City features people seated on a rooftop watching projection screen, with fairy lights to left.
The Film Exhibition Fund is back to champion independent film experiences in the North! 💰
Deadline: 20 March – https://bit.ly/fhn-fef
We’re holding a series of free events to help Northern filmmakers with their submissions. Sign up to our online roundtables to learn more about the guidelines or head along to a mixer to meet potential collaborators: bit.ly/fhn-sff 🎬
#ShortFilm #FilmFunding #NationalLottery
We welcome applications for amounts from £5,000 up to a maximum of £25,000. Funding is supplemented by creative oversight from our BFI NETWORK Talent Executives who will advise on screening opportunities, collaborators, festival strategy and more.
Text reads: ‘Short Film Fund: England £5k-£25k. Open Now’. BFI NETWORK and The National Lottery logos below.
The BFI NETWORK England's Short Film Fund is now open! The fund supports the production costs of standalone fiction shorts in live action, animation and immersive/virtual reality, from Northern filmmaking teams. Deadline Wednesday 18 March 2026 (11am). bit.ly/fhn-sff 💥 💰
Text reads ‘25/26 Northern Directors. A shadowing and mentoring programme for new directors in the North’. Text sits on background of colourful stripes.
Short-form directors, this is your sign! 🔮 For our next Northern Directors opportunity, we’ve teamed up with the BBC and Clerkenwell Films to offer a paid shadowing and mentoring placement on a real TV production. Apply by Friday 27 February: bit.ly/fhn-nd
Taking place online on Thursday 5 March, this mixer is all about sparking writer–producer partnerships and building standout production teams. Register your interest by Monday 23 February: bit.ly/4qjFLfW ✍️
Alternative text: Text reads ‘Meet the animators: producer mixer: ‘for producers looking for their next short film’. Still from Bernard shows three clay stop-motion figures seated inside a bus: one is dressed in an octopus costume.
Looking to develop your next animated short? 👀
We’re inviting producers to meet our Animation Development Lab writers as they shape ambitious short-form projects for future funding. bit.ly/4qjFLfW
This is your chance to connect, ask questions about the fund, and share what you're working on. And if you’re just here to meet other local filmmakers, you’re so welcome.
As always, attendance is free but you’ll need to sign up in advance:
Text reads: ‘BFI NETWORK Filmmaker Mixer. Liverpool; 18 February, Picturehouse at FACT with Let’s Make Films’. Three colourful cinema tickets below read ‘writer’, ‘producer’, and ‘director’. Background is a blurred orange circle with a blue diagonal stripe. Film Hub North and LMF logos to top right.
Text reads: ‘BFI NETWORK Filmmaker Mixer. Manchester; 25 February, HOME’. Three colourful cinema tickets below read ‘writer’, ‘producer’, and ‘director’. Background is a blurred orange circle with a blue diagonal stripe. Film Hub North logo to top right.
Text reads: ‘BFI NETWORK Filmmaker Mixer. Newcastle; 2 March, Tyneside Cinema’. Three colourful cinema tickets below read ‘writer’, ‘producer’, and ‘director’. Background is a blurred orange circle with a blue diagonal stripe. Film Hub North logo to top right.
Text reads: ‘BFI NETWORK Filmmaker Mixer. Leeds; 10 March, The Tetley’. Three colourful cinema tickets below read ‘writer’, ‘producer’, and ‘director’. Background is a blurred orange circle with a blue diagonal stripe. Film Hub North logo to top right.
Our York mixer is now fully booked – but don’t worry, we’re heading your way 👋
We’ll be in Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle in the coming weeks to chat all things BFI NETWORK Short Film Fund (re-opening February 2026).
bit.ly/fhn-mixer
Text reads ‘25/26 Northern Directors. A shadowing and mentoring programme for new directors in the North’. Text sits on background of colourful stripes.
Our next Northern Directors opportunity has landed! We’ve teamed up with the BBC and Clerkenwell Films to give two emerging short-form directors a paid shadowing and mentoring placement on a TV production. Apply by Friday 27 February: bit.ly/fhn-nd 🤩📣
#NorthernDirectors #DirectorsWanted
