In a press statement this month, BFI announced that applications to the BFI Film Fund for documentary production funding will now be considered through twice yearly pitching sessions, the first taking place at Sheffield Doc/Fest on 15 June and the second in London later in the year.

The BFI Film Fund pitching sessions will be delivered in conjunction with UK's leading documentary film festival, Sheffield Doc/Fest. A shortlist of applicants will be invited to present their projects to a panel of experts from the BFI Film Fund and the wider documentary funding community on two occasions per year. The new process will provide more detailed feedback and advice for all applicants, and the public nature of the pitches will allow for greater transparency helping to benefit the documentary filmmaking community at large.

Following an initial assessment of their funding application by key staff from the BFI Film Fund and Sheffield Doc/Fest, a shortlist of teams will be invited to present their projects to a panel of industry experts at a public 10 minute pitching session which will take place onSaturday 15 June at the Sheffield documentary festival for the first session (and an event to be confirmed in London for the second session).

Documentary filmmaking teams that are invited to pitch to the BFI Film Fund will benefit from specialist advice from Sheffield Doc/Fest's pitch trainer, including how to clearly communicate their story and characters, how to structure their presentations for maximum impact, and how to develop the best teaser clips to accompany their pitch.

The new application process for documentaries is now live. Filmmakers wishing to apply for production funding for documentaries should go to the BFI website and apply through this new process using the BFI Film Fund online application mechanism.

For more information about the process and making an application for funding from the BFI Film Fund, please go to: www.bfi.org.uk/documentaryfunding