Curious
Funding for archive film events investigating the unexplored and unexpected

Funding Available

Awards up to £10,000
Funding for archive film events

Dates and deadlines

Applications are now closed

CURIOUS is a programme supporting archive film events across the UK which celebrate the human desire to learn more about the people and things around us.

Taking place between June - October 2022, CURIOUS will support screenings that explore stories within the archives which are unfamiliar, under-appreciated or of particular importance to audiences today. It is a chance to celebrate the collections of our National and Regional Film Archives and invite audiences to experience something new through the moving images of the past.

Funding is available for archive film events which look beneath the surface and unearth new stories about our communities. These might be traditional ways of life long forgotten or alternative lifestyles, underrepresented experiences of UK communities and scientific discoveries and technological explorations that emerged from the human drive to answer the question ‘what if?’

In addition to these thematic prompts, we are especially interested in receiving proposals that complement the StoryTrails project which is taking place during the summer and autumn of 2022 and forms part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK

CURIOUS is part of Changing Times: the UK-wide Screen Heritage programme we managed on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network.  It was presented in collaboration with Film Feels run by Film Hub Midlands

From 2018, Film Hub North (FHN) oversaw the multi-year screen heritage programme, Changing Times, for BFI Film Audience Network (FAN) supported by National Lottery funding. Changing Times encouraged FAN member exhibitors to showcase the material held in the UK’s National and Regional Film Archives through ambitious screenings and events.

This programme has now come to an end. To gain insights on the aims of the project and what was achieved between 2018 - 2022, check out the data dashboard linked below.

Explore the Changing Times Data Dashboard

Image credit: Side Cinema (taken by Carl Joyce)