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DIVERSE FILM FUND 2026

An Easy Read version of this page is available HERE.

Submission Deadline:

Tuesday 15th December 2026 at 12.00pm (noon).

Download your Application Pack HERE.

To apply, you must:

  • be a first-time director: this will be your first broadcast credit.

  • live or work in the West Midlands

  • be working class

  • be telling a story of a person or community you feel deserve a to be known more widely, are deeply connected to, know and love.

Creative Brief:

We want to support five working-class first-time directors to tell us stories from the ten million people who call the West Midlands homes. These are stories that could only be told in the West Midlands - stories of place, people and community.

  • Each film will be 20 minutes, with a clear creative narrative approach, authorship and ambition. It will be motivating and hopefully inspiring to audiences locally and nationally.

  • Your film should be unfolding narratives, immersing the viewer in the specificity of people and place. Your contributors will bring the film to life, it is through them that viewers will remain engaged and feel a deep bond with the story.

  • They can be standalone films or have the potential to be the first in a longer series of mid-form documentaries, a pilot or calling-card to be expanded into a longer-form feature.

Remember to have fun! Your film will be ultimately positive, revealing and uplifting. It is an opportunity for you to showcase your talent and creativity through producing a meaningful, positive and impactful film which will be a calling-card for your future career.

Eligibility Criteria:

To be eligible for consideration, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Applications are from individuals not companies or organisations

  • Applicants must live in the West Midlands and identify as working-class: successful applicants supported by CE funding must be based in the West Midlands Combined Authority region of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

  • Applicants must demonstrate commitment storytelling representing the experiences of the region and its communities

  • Applicants must be aged 18+, live and work in the UK

  • Applicants must be available for the training (2-3 days in total), development, production and post production period

  • Applicants do not have a broadcast credit as director or producer

Application Requirements:

Project Proposals must include:

  • A strong overview of your project to grab our attention, including the story, people, themes and vision (100 words or less)

  • A short rationale setting out your creative approach to the story you want to tell (50 words or less)

  • A short biography introducing you and any filmmaking experiences so far (50 words or less)

Selection process:

Applications will be reviewed by a panel of TV professionals, including commissionsers and producers with relevant expertise and deep local knowledge.

How to Apply:

We plan to run a webinar and/or a live event during the application period to help guide filmmakers. Webinars recording will be made available afterwards.

Please click HERE to submit your application through the web-form.

Additional accessibility tools will be available for deaf, disabled and/or neurodivergent creatives.

For any queries, email info@togethertv.com using the subject DFF2026.

If applying online does not meet your needs, please contact us to discuss other ways to submit your application.

Please note that all films will be produced to BFI Diversity Standards, ALBERT sustainability standards and The TV Access Project’s (TAP) Guidelines for Disability Inclusion in UK TV Production. Filmmaker, crew and contributor needs will be assessed with reasonable adjustments made as needed.

All eligible applicants are welcomed – filmmakers may be working in TV, branded content, online video, community video, leaving college or university, have no formal training or not working.