Over six weeks, five selected animators will follow a focused development journey to strengthen their concept and prepare it for future production and funding opportunities - particularly the Short Film Fund opening in early 2026.

Bring us a concept, character, world, visual idea, or early-stage narrative and spend six weeks shaping it into a strong engaging short. Whether your project ends up as a script, storyboard, or other visual development material, the Lab will help clarify your idea and sharpen your creative vision.

Across four online group development sessions, you’ll collaborate with fellow animators, exchange feedback, and gain insight into each other’s creative processes. This supportive cohort-led approach allows you to grow your idea through conversation, challenge, and shared learning.

The sessions will be led by industry mentor Ellie Land and the Film Hub North team who will offer professional feedback, creative guidance, and practical advice. The Animation Development Lab is timed to help you get your project submission-ready ahead of the Short Film Fund deadline in early 2026. By the end of the programme, you’ll have a well-developed concept and the tools to take it to the next stage.

Ellie Land is a BAFTA long-listed Animation Director and Immersive Content Director who creates beautiful narrative-driven content that challenges audiences to see the world differently. 

Her award-winning animated documentary films have screened internationally at film festivals and exhibitions such as NYC Docs, Fantoche Switzerland, and Art Science Daejeon South Korea. Her BFI animated documentary Plunge is currently screening at BAFTA qualifying film festivals and is being developed for VR with TYKE films. Her contribution to feature film Irene’s Ghost was nominated for a BIFA Award in 2018 and BFI-funded Bathroom Privileges (co-directed with Rupert Williams) won the AHRC Research in Film (Animation) Award in 2020.

The programme is open to writers and animators with an initial idea for a short film under 15 minutes in length. You don’t need to have made a film before or even worked in the medium: this course is suitable for artists working in different mediums who want to make the move into writing for animation.

Ideas must be original to the writer and not an adaptation of third-party existing material. We will consider applications from co-writing teams as well as individuals. Applicants must be over 18, not in full time education, and be based in the North (as defined by the BFI).

Your idea should be distinctive, different, have a strong perspective and potential for a clear plot, character arc, and creative approach. Applicants will ideally have a dedication to working as a writer in creative arts.

Applicants must be able to commit to the online development sessions detailed below, as well as completing work in between sessions. 

Friday 30 January 2026 AM: Session 1 
Friday 13 February 2026 AM: Session 2
Friday 27 February 2026: Session 3

Thursday 5 March 2026 PM: Meet the Producers session

Friday 5 December 2025: Applications open
Monday 5 January 2026 12pm (noon): Applications close
Monday 12 January 2026: Applicants notified of decisions

Our application form will ask for details about your creative experience and your short film idea. You’ll also be asked to provide a sample of your previous work. If you’d like to prepare offline before completing the application form, we’ve put together a downloadable list of the questions asked for reference. 

If you have any issues with the online form, require application support, or would like to apply in another way, please email bfinetwork@filmhubnorth.org.uk using the subject line “ANIMATION DEVELOPMENT LAB APPLICATION".