EXCLUSIVE: An additional £300,000 has been made available for new immersive non-fiction projects through the BFI Doc Society Fund by the BFI and Doc Society.
Producers can apply for up to £150,000 per eligible project. The project must have a lead UK production company that has previous credits that utilized immersive technologies such as VR, AR, MR, and 360-degree experiences.
Today’s announcement coincides with the start of the Venice Production Bridge, where the UK is a country in focus. In Venice, the BFI will host a panel titled ‘Creating Spaces: Not emerging, emerged – immersive exhibition in the UK’. The event will take place on Friday, 29 August, on the Venice Immersive Island and will be moderated by the BFI’s Director of UK Audiences, Ben Luxford, while speakers include Amy Rose (Undershed), David Massey (Wales Millennium Centre), Nicola Triscott (FACT Liverpool), and Alex Rowse (Marshmallow Laser Feast). A Meet the Creators session will be held after the panel.
Immersive projects currently in production with the BFI Doc Society Fund include Built by Sound, a mixed-reality experience that will premiere as part of the Bradford City of Culture campaign in November 2025.
Exploring how British South Asian communities in the 1970s and ’80s found joy in defiance, community, and music, Built by Sound is a co-production between No Ghost, Dialled In, and Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the BFI Doc Society Fund.
Mia Bays, Director of BFI Filmmaking Fund, today described the additional funding as a “response to significant demand to fund documentary immersive projects.”
“We know we will be inspired by how the supported UK filmmakers will continue to experiment with and expand the form, and bring new audiences in to embrace the innovation,” Bays said.
Luke W Moody, Head of BFI Doc Society Fund, added: “Whether sharing radical histories, speculative futures, or powerful presence, immersive non-fiction allows us to encounter and re-imagine our realities together. We’re excited to be able to support new immersive experiences representing the plurality of what story world building can be.”
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