First Light Young Film Fund

First Light Movies provides grants to projects that enable young people to participate in all aspects of film productions. Since launching in 2001, First Light Movies have enabled over 12,000 young filmmakers to write, act, shoot, light, direct and produce over 800 films. The funding is available to organisations such as schools, youth services, community and voluntary groups that work with young people aged between 5 and 18. Every year approximately £700,000 of grants are available through three funding streams. The Studio Awards provides grants of up to £30, 000 for between two and four films of up to 10 minutes. The Script Awards provides grants of up to £3,000 for script writing projects that team young people with script professionals. The Pilot Awards provides grants of up to £5,000 for one short film of up to five minutes in duration. Previous grants awarded included Hartside Primary School, County Durham, which received a grant of £3,000 to help produce a five minute shadow puppet film using an original fairy tale devised, told and filmed by the children in Year 1 and Balfour Junior School in Brighton, which received funding to make an environmental documentary ‘The Amazing Adventures of the Plastic Bag’.

The Script and Pilot elements of the fund will re-open for applications on the 2nd March and closes for applications on the 27th April 2010. For more information, visit: www.firstlightonline.co.uk