Our teaser trailer is now live! Take a look at this 30-second glimpse into the exciting projects being funded in the south west. And remember, applications for the BFI NETWORK Short Film Fund are open until Wednesday 18 January at 11am.

We are looking for a Film Hub South West Comms & Outreach Coordinator to join our team! Find out more: buff.ly/pL4CLSx

Come and join Team @filmhubsw.bsky.social here at Watershed as Comms & Outreach Coordinator! www.watershed.co.uk/jobs/2026/03...

The BFI NETWORK Short Film Fund is now open for applications! We are looking for original ideas for fictional shorts across live action, animation or immersive/ virtual reality. Apply before 18 March 11am.

One week until our final deadline! Have you made an action, sci-fi or horror short film? Send it to us and it could be screened as part of April's festival. filmfreeway.com/fwfilmfestival

Last chance to apply for Exeter Phoenix's 48 Hour Short Film Challenge. Applications close on Tue 3 Feb 10pm. Grab your mates and sign up now!

Sheffield, Penwith | Cornwall

We've got an incredible director Q&A preview screening for an incredible new film My Father's Shadow on Tue 27 Jan 18:00. We hope you can make it! https://www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/13792/preview-my-fathers-shadow

The Netlix Documentary Talent Fund is open for applications until Thu 12 Feb 1pm. The theme for this year’s fund is ‘Change’. This opportunity is available to anyone across the UK and Ireland and will give five filmmaking teams the chance to make a short documentary film with a budget of £30,000.

The BFI NETWORK Short Film Fund will be reopening next month. Thinking about applying? Check out these online events we're hosting to support applicants in the south west. On Mon 23 Feb 12:30 - 13:30 join us for Meet The Short Film Fund Producer: Lucy Mainstone.

🚨 We're extending the deadline for applications to our Working-Class Producers' Forum to Tue 13 Jan 10am. Hosted by acclaimed producer Sophie Reynolds, the forum will take place on Tue 3 Feb from 6pm-7:30pm. This forum is open to working-class producers based in the south west of England.

Calling Working-Class producers! Applications are still open for our Forum with Sophie Reynolds, until Thu 8 Jan 10am.

For one week only, your donation will be doubled through the @biggive.bsky.social Christmas Challenge. One donation, twice the impact. Please share our campaign far and wide and donate today - your gift will be doubled: donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05... #ChristmasChallenge

Our Working-Class Producers’ Forum, hosted by film & TV producer Sophie Reynolds, will take place Tue 3 Feb 26 from 6pm-7:30pm. This forum is open to producers based in the south west of England who are from lower socio-economic background. Applications are now open and will close on Thu 8 Jan 10am.

Erebus Pictures and Delaval Film are looking for an Associate Producer to join the team on a BBC and BFI backed independent feature film shooting in London in late January 2026. Apply by 28 Nov (!).

Incredible to see Screen Cornwall launch their Equity Production Investment, a new £2.5 million initiative jointly backed by Cornwall Council and private investors, to boost film and high-end television production in the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly. Find out more below.

Come along to an online script read by @terrorarcade.bsky.social and Cariad Productions on Mon 24 Nov 18:30 where you will hear actors deliver the short horror scripts our ‘Scream Queens’ cohort have been working on these last 4 weeks - prepare to be scared! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

TWO WEEKS LEFT to vote for us to WIN @bifa-film.bsky.social Cinema of The Year! We were absolutely made up to be shortlisted - thanks to all of you - now we need your votes one more time ❤️ Vote here before 25 Nov - thank you so much x https://ow.ly/7ON050Xq5KW

There's just under a week left to apply for this year's BFI NETWORK Early Development Fund. The first stage of the fund supports long-form live-action, immersive and animation fiction projects with awards of £3,000 to £5,000 to develop a treatment.  www.bfi.org.uk/get-funding-...

Applications are now open for Sona Films’ Gatecrashers Writers Lab, a programme supporting bold new genre feature projects from writers from working-class and low socio-economic backgrounds. Open to UK-based writers aged 18 and over. Apply by Friday 27 November at 12pm.

We have lots of activity to support applications to the Early Developing Fund (closing Tue 18 Nov 11am) starting with an online Q&A with the South West Talent Executives on Wed 29 Oct 17:00. ✍️

Writer-director Dean Puckett's debut feature, The Severed Sun, is now available to rent on BFI Player! Dean is an alumni of BFI NETWORK South West with his funded short, Seagull.

Euella Jackson reflects on whether Black History Month is a tokenistic gesture or an essential, drawing on personal experiences of community, culture and change. This conversation tomorrow with Edson Burton, hosted by Emmanuella Blake-Morsi, 18:00-19:30.

For Senior Leaders and Trustees @wshed.bsky.social's Meeting The Moment, on Wed 26 Nov from 10:00, is a day event for the culture sector on speaking up in troubled times. The day will encourage sharing, nourishing and empowering each other – with a focus on practical learning and actionable insight.

We're so excited to shout about our New Voices 2025 cohort! With our partners Blak Wave Productions, Little by Little Films & Bristol AF, we will support the writer-directors to develop their short film idea and directing practice through workshops, mentoring and script development.

The Early Development Fund is open until Mon 17 Dec 11am. The fund supports the early stages of debut feature-length projects and is intended for writers who are ready to create a 10-page treatment, helping you outline your story while developing its characters and themes. Read the guidelines below.

Got the spark of a story but no script yet? BFI NETWORK’s Early Development Fund is now open, supporting filmmakers to develop their debut feature idea into a strong initial treatment. Learn more and apply: bit.ly/fhn-edf 💡 #FilmHubNorth #BFINetwork #Filmmakers #FundingOpportunity

We're buzzing to be supporting ‘SCREAM QUEENS’ a script development lab for 6 women and non-binary writers. Over 4 weeks, they'll help transform your spooky seed of an idea into a monstrous polished short film script. Apply by Mon 6 Oct.

This Friday!

Organisers of the @irisprize.org are proud to launch its full programme! The 19th Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival - celebrating global stories and Cardiff charm - takes place Monday 13 – Sunday 19 October 2025 in Cardiff. ffilmcymruwales.com/news-and-eve...

It is officially one week until @encounters.film at @wshed.bsky.social 🤩 Check out what BFI NETWORK will be up to during the festival to get some inspiration for your festival picks.

The BFI NETWORK South West team couldn’t be more thrilled to be back at @encounters.film for its 30th anniversary celebrations taking place in Bristol from Wed 24 – Sun 28 Sep. Check out this blog post to hear about what we're involved in and what we will be watching! ✨

Film-makers! How would you like to see your short films on an IMAX screen? If you've made an action, fantasy, horror or sci-fi short film in the past two years, we want to hear from you. Submissions open on 24 October. Find out more: filmfreeway.com/fwfilmfestival

@exit6filmfest.bsky.social is fast approaching! We're delighted to be hosting Developing Your Feature with BFI NETWORK South West with Talent Exec Nadia Attia & Tommy Gillard on Fri 19 Sep. Get your industry passes below. ✍️

Not long until our coffee mornings are back! ☕ Join us on the second Tuesday of the month for a chance to informally meet with other filmmakers across the region, restarting from 9 Sep.

✨ The Encounters Film Festival 2025 Official Selection is now LIVE! An extraordinary collection of 105 exceptional films from fresh voices and celebrated auteurs from around the globe, this historic 30th edition showcases the very best in contemporary cinema. www.encounters.film/programme-an...

Let's show our love for @wshed.bsky.social !!

Our home @wshed.bsky.social has been nominated for @bifa-film.bsky.social Cinema of The Year 2025. We have four weeks to get into the top five to make it to the next round! If you love Watershed, please vote for us at the link below by Mon 22 September, its super quick and easy.

The deadline for New Voices has been extended to Tue 26 Aug 10:00am so you only have just over one week left to get your application in. We’re seeking stories from underrepresented writer-directors based in the south west of England, aged 18+ and out of full-time education.

Been back on the Encounters programming - great to see so many excellent short films from SW/UK and further afield . Looking forward to the fest ……..

🎬 How do you make a film like KNEECAP – part biopic, part satire, shot in Irish, starring real-life chaos agents – and actually get it funded? Find out from the duo who pulled it off at @shootingpeople's online webinar on Wed 6 Aug 17:00. Tickets available below.

We've extended the deadline for our latest programme for underrepresented writer-directors until Tue 26 Aug 10:00! Find out more and apply now.

The brilliant New Voices scheme is back to help develop underrepresented writer-director talent in our region, working with some excellent local orgs including Blak Wave Productions, Little By Little Films, Bristol AF and Bristol School of Acting. Check it out 👇

Thinking about applying to New Voices but have some questions? Come along to our online Q&A this Thursday at 12:30. Sign up for free below. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/new-voices...

New Voices, a talent scheme for underrepresented writer-directors in the south west, is open for applications. Apply with a 5-min short film idea by Fri 22 Aug, 17:00. Selected applicants get mentoring, script development, workshops with actors and more. watershed.co.uk/filmhub/even...

July's newsletter is going out on Monday, are you signed up? 👇 watershed.co.uk/filmhub/upda...

The final round of Immersive Arts funding is now open! UK-based artists can apply for £5k, £20k or £50k to develop work with immersive tech. Open until Mon 29 Sep 2025. This is the last open call—apply now. immersivearts.uk/news/the-final-round-of-immersive-arts-funding-is-now-open

One week left to apply for BFI NETWORK@LFF, an opportunity for up to 15 UK-based writers, directors, and producers working in fiction & documentary to attend the BFI London Film Festival programme, industry events, and meet with leading filmmakers and professionals. Apply by Fri 18 July 11:00.

Screen Launchpad supports diverse, aspiring leaders in screen industries (film/TV, games, immersive, animation & createch). Ready to launch your business? Apply by Mon 21 July, 17:00.

Join Screenskills on Wed 9 July 13:00 - 14:00 for Demystifying the new world of film producing, a free online webinar for creative media producers who want to restructure their production companies for long-term financial stability. www.screenskills.com/bookings/dem...