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Make your own film.
Your own shorts build your skills and your reel. They rarely pay at first. Make them properly, get them seen, don't waste money.
Four doors
Checklists and downloads. Every rule, fee and date is checked on the official source and dated.
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Get it madeFundingShort-film and development funds, the screen agencies, crowdfunding and tax relief: who pays for what, and how competitive it is.Open the guide
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Know the businessThe film businessRights, contracts, budgets, sales and distribution: how films find an audience and, sometimes, earn money back.Open the guide
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Start where you are
I have an idea
Make it small and finish it
A tight short you finish beats a big one you don't. Write for what you can borrow, light and feed. Most funds want a producer and a clear budget.
I'm about to shoot
Shoot it the way a unit does
Permission for every location, a risk assessment, insurance, releases from everyone on screen, and a call sheet. It keeps people safe, and festivals and buyers expect it.
I have a finished short
Plan your festival run
Pick the festivals that count, in order, before you spend on fees. Premiere rules decide where you can go next.
Make it with us
- Story to Screen LabTake a story from an idea to a finished film and a screening, with a working unit behind you.
- The AcademyFree online courses, then a practical on set for the FIF Certificate.
- Learning pathsFree films in the order you'd learn them on a set, department by department.
- Events and exposFestivals with industry days, kit shows and careers fairs, month by month.
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Checked against the official sources on 13 Nov 2026; rules and fees change, so always read the source before you apply or pay.