Film Exhibition Fund 2025: Round two recipients

We are proud to share the nine organisations in receipt of the final round of the Film Exhibition Fund 2025/26.

The BFI FAN Film Exhibition Fund supports Film Hub Scotland members to deliver events that allow Scotland’s population to enjoy a diverse range of films.

We have committed to supporting a range of projects across this year’s Film Exhibition Fund – from documentary screenings in the new Edinburgh Filmhouse, to community screenings in the Highlands. They span genre, audiences and location, and each addresses one or more of our priority areas.

Ilia Ryzhenko, Film Hub Scotland Manager, says: “Huge thanks to all the organisations that submitted proposals for this year’s Film Exhibition Fund (FEF). The overall FEF-supported group across the two rounds looks incredibly diverse, both geographically and thematically, featuring cinema programmes, community events, film festivals, touring screenings, events for young audiences, and more. Equally exciting is the presence of newly established initiatives, such as Jali Collective, alongside long-standing FHS members like the Glasgow Short Film Festival and Scotland Loves Anime. I also want to highlight how many FEF-supported organisations prominently feature independent and archival films and world cinema in their programming. We cannot wait to see these projects in action.”

The Film Exhibition Fund 2025/26 is now closed; however, our Pitch Pot and Bursary awards are still open. Head to our Funding & Support page for more.

Dundee Contemporary Arts: Dundead – Phantom of the Opera 10th Anniversary with Live Accompaniment

Dundee Contemporary Art‘s horror and cult strand and festival, Dundead, is adding an exciting new string to its bow this winter. They will tour a specially-commissioned live accompaniment score for the 1925 film, The Phantom of the Opera. The new score will be inspired by the horror classic’s landmark 100th birthday, presenting an ‘alternative’ to the traditional silent film accompaniment. The film will tour venues across Scotland this October – December.

Glasgow Short Film Festival: Shorts in Support 2025

Glasgow Short Film Festival‘s Shorts in Support programme returns this year. Shorts in Support has revived the forgotten art of the ‘supporting short’: pairing a short with a feature film in your programme. The supporting short is a great way to introduce audiences to upcoming filmmakers, broaden your programme, and generate a dialogue between the short and the feature. From August, Scottish cinemas and film societies can book from a programme of over 20 Scottish and international shorts, spanning documentary, fiction and animation. With no restrictions on which short you screen alongside which feature, there are plenty of opportunities for creative programming. All films will be available with captions for D/deaf audiences

Havana Glasgow Film Festival – 10th Anniversary Edition

Havana Glasgow Film Festival (HGFF) celebrates its 10th anniversary this November with a vibrant programme of Cuban film on the theme of ‘Solidarity and Kindness’. Events will include a programme of documentaries tracing the history of cycling culture in Havana (screened via bicycle-powered projection!). The event will be presented in partnership with The Workers Observatory’s, in support of their fair rights campaign for Glasgow’s bicycle delivery workers. Plus, they will curate a programme of Cuban shorts for children and young people, accompanied by workshops, at the Centre for Contemporary Arts. 

Jali Collective: African Film Weekender (name TBC)

Jali Collective will launch the inaugural African Film Weekender (name TBC) at Edinburgh Filmhouse this Autumn. This new celebration of Black, African and diaspora cinema will foster inclusive spaces for engagement and connection, and allow audiences to find dialogue through African film. The inaugural edition hopes to lay the foundation for a bold, inclusive and community-centred film event that continues to grow in years to come.

Manipulate Arts: Animation Programme at Manipulate 2026

Next year’s Manipulate Festival will focus on growing audiences for animated film with a programme spanning features, shorts, stop-motion, and work-in-progress films. Plus, there will be workshops, public talks and a networking event for artists and audiences. Partnerships with Move Summit, Glasgow Film and Jali Collective (amongst others!) will drive audiences for animated films at the Edinburgh Filmhouse, as will co-curated screenings in community spaces across Edinburgh.

Refractive Scotland: Paisley Docs – Rebels and Innovators

Refractive is launching a boundary-pushing programme of documentaries: Paisley Docs: Rebels and Innovators. Over five months, they will screen documentaries that have the power to change perception, inspire and provoke reaction. There will be plenty of opportunity for local filmmaking talent to get involved, too; each feature documentary will be paired with a short made by a Renfrewshire filmmaker. 

Scotland Loves Anime 2025

This October, Scotland Loves Anime returns to Glasgow and Edinburgh for its 16th edition. For UK fans of Japanese animated cinema, Scotland Loves Anime is an essential event in the cultural calendar. This year’s programme will feature premieres, archive and hard-to-find films, alongside introductions and discussions with special guests from the industry. Plus, there will be a free education day for animation students, delivered in partnership with Edinburgh College of Art.

The Pyramid at Anderston

The Pyramid‘s Winter Community Film Programme has been running since 2019. They combine family-friendly films with specialised films for adults, often accompanied by special guests, Q&As, themed workshops and/or food. Previous events have included: The Brutalist with a weeklong showing of Glasgow City Heritage Trust’s Brutal Glasgow exhibition; Poor Things, with the launch of the Alasdair Gray Travelling Archive; and Neil Brand’s live scoring of Pandora’s Box. Films and events are curated by the Community Film Panel, a diverse group of community members. So far, The Pyramid have worked with partners including Borscht Film Club, CinemaAttic, and Offline. 

WHALE Arts: Local Cinema Touring Programme

Local Cinema equips community organisations in Edinburgh with the skills to deliver community cinema screenings for, and in collaboration with, community members. Local Cinema’s Touring Programme will bring a shared programme of archive films to the communities of Wester Hailes, Muirhouse/Pilton, Craigmillar and Leith. The films will depict the lives of communities in these areas, and will be shown alongside feature films shot on location in Edinburgh. All screenings will have post-show discussions with community members and special guests. 

For current funding opportunities, head to our Funding & Support page. 

Image: Glasgow Short Film Festival 2024, Ingrid Muir