Girls in Film launches 10th birthday £25k short film fund
25 May 2026
On the evening of Thursday 21st May, Girls in Film celebrated their tenth birthday with a party in London and the launch of their new short film fund.
The funding initiative and mentorship opportunity awards £25,000 in production funding to support an exciting filmmaking project, and grants runner-up projects with mentoring support. Open to women, trans+ and non-binary filmmaking teams based in the UK, they are looking for fiction-based projects across animation and live action genres (excluding music videos), with a maximum running length of 20 minutes.
Girls in Film is a global organisation that champions and connects the new generation of women, non-binary and trans creatives in the film industry. We believe that changing the gender bias in the film industry starts with bringing these groups to the forefront. Our community engages in and progresses discussions around equality and representation in film.
We platform and connect female, trans and non-binary creatives at all levels in the film industry, but our network is made up of film lovers of all genders. We have a strong online presence via our streaming platform and Instagram, and IRL branches in London, New York City, Prague, Johannesburg, Dublin, Aotearoa and Athens.
Girls in Film team says: “When we were thinking about plans for how Girls in Film could celebrate our 10th birthday, we decided we wanted to give back to our community in a practical and meaningful way, which is how we landed on announcing a film fund to help realise an exciting and original idea. We knew we wanted to offer generous funding as well as mentorship support. We had a pot of money put aside from past ticket sales and productions over the last 10 years, and reached out to our friends for further support. We asked them to make a contribution or provide in-kind support to continue opening doors for our community. Huge thanks to our sponsors, the GiF team, and of course, our community. We can’t wait to get stuck in and read your submissions and ideas!
Fund information
The fund closes on Sunday, 14th June 2026 at 23:59 BST and is free to enter.
GiF is seeking bold and original, production-ready ideas that can be delivered by the end of 2026. Shortlisted projects will be invited to pitch to a panel of Executive Producers, with runner-up projects offered additional mentoring to push their projects forward.
Fund Timeline:
Mid-July: Shortlisted projects will be notified
Late-July: Shortlisted projects invited to pitch to panel of EPs
Mid-August: The production fund will be awarded, with a selection of shortlisted projects also receiving additional mentoring and support