Our Pitch Pot fund provides organisations with quick-fire micro-grants for one-off events and short screening programmes.
The Film Exhibition Fund: Pitch Pot is a flexible fund offering support of up to £3,000 for activity taking place between April 2026 and March 2027. This fund is available thanks to BFI National Lottery as part of the
BFI’s Screen Culture 2033 strategy.
The fund is suitable for organisations looking to start a local screening programme, put on a special event, or enhance their existing programme with extra audience development work. The entire range of organisations in our exhibitor network are eligible to apply – including full-time cinemas, mixed arts centres, community cinemas and film societies, film festivals and touring programmes.
This is a rolling fund so proposals can be made at any time from 4 March 2026 to 12 February 2027. Proposals should be submitted at least 6 weeks in advance of their project start date to allow time for assessment, project development and marketing lead-in.
Guidelines
Read our funding guidelines for more information on the fund, its aims and eligibility criteria.
Accessibility
If you have access requirements that mean you need assistance when applying for funds, you can request help through the
BFI Access Support Scheme.
If you have any questions about the fund, application process, or would like to discuss submitting a proposal in a different way, please get in touch at info@filmhubnorth.org.uk.
Further information
Hear from previous Pitch Pot recipients on projects we’ve supported:
MIRA en español, MIRA Film Nights
This series of 2 events showcased short films in Spanish, followed by filmmaker Q&As, in Manchester. The aim was to showcase the diversity of Spanish speaking cultures on screen, telling stories that connect with the Spanish speaking migrant communities living in Greater Manchester.
Both events sold out and reached capacity. The feedback I received from attendees was incredibly positive… Absolutely everyone who filled out an audience survey selected the option, “I felt welcomed and comfortable at the venue.” This is such a positive indicator that we’re breaking barriers and making cultural venues accessible to everyone… It’s incredibly encouraging and motivates us to continue fostering this inclusive and inviting atmosphere for future events.
Women X Festival, Rianne Pictures
Women x is a BIFA accredited film festival in Darlington, shining a spotlight on the extraordinary talents of women and gender nonconforming directors, writers, and producers.
The legacy we hope to leave from Women X 2023 is a commitment to promoting diversity and inclusivity in the film industry. We believe that everyone should have access to films, regardless of their background, economic status or abilities, and we hope to continue to provide support and resources to ensure that this is possible in an inclusive and safe environment.
Leeds Palestinian Film Festival, Hidden Stories
Leeds Palestinian Film Festival aims to tell the stories of Palestine as widely, accessibly and powerfully as possible, amplifying Palestinian voices by featuring Palestinian film-makers, speakers and artists.
We recognised that offering a different kind of festival this year with a mixture of film and other cultural events was a bold move and we hoped it would generate a larger and different audience… In the end, we were operating at our full capacity the whole time... Our feedback demonstrates that branching out into offering a more varied cultural festival was very welcome and we intend to build on this next year.
Main image credit: The Dukes' sunset screening © Darren Andrews
Other image credits: MIRA Film Nights; Rianne Pictures; Leeds Palestinian Film Festival
