Lighthouse was selected to manage the scheme, with Senior Producer, Emily Kyriakides, working in partnership with producer Nicky Bentham of Neon Films, and development producer Becca Ellson to oversee the executive production of the films.

In response to an open call for applications, almost 1000 submissions were received, from which 17 ambitious projects were selected. Spanning a range of genres from drama to comedy, thriller to sci-fi, and featuring filmmakers from a range of creative disciplines including film, TV, documentary, commercials and theatre, the films received production funding of around £50,000 each.

All the projects produced through the scheme are now complete and have been making a big impression on the festival circuit, attracting widespread critical acclaim and industry recognition. They have won numerous accolades including three BAFTA and three BIFA nominations, and awards at Cannes, BAFTA Cymru and many other international film festivals.

Ben Roberts, Director of the BFI Film Fund:

“The Lighthouse/BFI scheme has been very rewarding for us in several respects; the quality and originality of the films is an indicator of the rich emerging talent across the UK; the festival success and accolades have given them industry and international recognition; and we are now supporting a number of these filmmakers – Jane Linfoot, Stephen Fingleton and Michael Pearce – on their first features. I hope that other talented filmmakers are inspired by the quality and the success of the Lighthouse shorts, and they can now talk to the BFI NET.WORK about support for their ideas. Our warmest thanks and congratulations go to all of the filmmaking teams and of course our friends at Lighthouse.”