# BFI funds two AI training projects for UK independent filmmakers

The NFTS receives £400,000 and Falmouth University almost £250,000, with results to be published over two years.

Published 13 November 2026 by EuGFA in The Briefing. Interests: Practice and learning.

## What happened

The BFI announced on 11 November 2026 two awards from its National Lottery Innovation Challenge Fund, in answer to its sixth challenge call, In Our Hands. The National Film and Television School (NFTS) receives £400,000 for the NFTS x BFI Innovators Programme. Falmouth University receives almost £250,000 for Lab to Slate, a project on safe and responsible AI use in the UK's independent screen sector.

Each project runs over two years. The NFTS plans an innovation pipeline of sector consultation and research, skills development and funded creative R&D, which goes on to support a cohort of 10 practitioners developing proof-of-concept projects. Falmouth will give eight independent creatives training, mentoring, access to tools, legal guidance and ethical frameworks while they apply AI to real projects.

## Why it matters

For UK independent makers, the awards fund two small supported groups: 10 practitioners at the NFTS and eight creatives at Falmouth. Kingsley Marshall, Falmouth's head of film and television, says its case studies will appear in a free, open-access AI Production Playbook. Both projects are to publish findings and practical resources.

## Still open

As of 13 November 2026, the BFI announcement gives no application route, dates or deadlines for either cohort, and no publication date for the playbook.

## Read further

- [BFI announcement, 11 November 2026](https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/bfi-innovation-challenge-fund-invests-guidance-working-with-emerging-technology-independent-film-sector)
- [BFI National Lottery Innovation Challenge Fund](https://www.bfi.org.uk/get-funding-support/bfi-national-lottery-innovation-challenge-fund)