Northern Doc Fund to offer £3000 documentary bursary
UK-based indie Northern Heart Films has expanded its documentary bursary fund that aims to support emerging filmmakers from working class backgrounds.
The Northern Doc Fund (fka the Northern Heart Doc Fund) launched in 2022 and is backed by Wigan-based indie Northern Heart Films, which had provided £500 bursaries to support and nurture documentary makers from the north-west of England.
The scheme, which had early financial input from Wigan Council and Creative Lancashire, has grown to attract support from the likes of Sheffield DocFest, Leeds-based post house Sticks & Glass, Olympic Studios, mental well-being organisation Film in Mind, and Waël Kabbani (The End) from Iambic Dream Films.
As a result, the 2025-26’s scheme has been expanded to cover the whole of the north of England and will see two successful applicants each receiving a £3000 cash grant to support their filmmaking efforts.
Comprehensive mentoring and post-production support from Sticks & Glass will also be offered, as well as an industry pass to Sheffield DocFest ’25, well-being support from Film in Mind plus cinema screenings at Leigh Film Factory in Greater Manchester and Olympic Studios in London.
Applicants for the scheme are required to create a short film around the theme of climate and class, with those shortlisted then being invited to pitch their project at the LA1 Shorts Film Festival at The Dukes Theatre in Lancaster in June, where it will be judged by a panel of experts.
The two winning pitches will then receive the £3000 grants to produce their short films, along with extensive mentoring and support from Northern Heart Films and its sponsors and collaborators.
Natasha Hawthornthwaite, co-founder at Northern Heart Films with Scott Bradley, said: “I come from a Northern working-class background and found it a massive struggle to get my foot in the door. Despite a lot of noise in the sector about diversity and inclusion measures, it feels like the working class is still a very much overlooked – or forgotten about – minority in TV, especially off-screen. And we are desperate to change that.
“For our industry to thrive, it’s vital that visionaries of all ages and from all backgrounds have the chance to enter and succeed, finding ways to share their original stories with authentic voices. There is a big appetite for our Fund and for the mentoring that accompanies the financial support.
“As far as we know, there aren’t any schemes around specifically supporting new documentary makers in this way, so we are honoured to be doing our bit and gathering more and more support every year. We are also excited to be profiling the power of documentary shorts: not only are they a brilliant way to learn our craft and tell important stories but with increasing opportunities on digital platforms, there has also never been more demand or places to get them seen.”
Hawthornthwaite added: “We have introduced Climate & Class as the theme for this year’s applicants as voices from privileged backgrounds have frequently hijacked climate change narratives. It has never been more vital to hear from working-class communities directly affected by these issues.”
Northern Heart Films was awarded BBC Small Indie Fund status in 2024 and has been behind Joy Uncensored for Channel 4, and Homecoming, a film featuring Richard Ashcroft (The Verve) as he returned to Wigan for two major gigs.
Applications close at midnight on 22 April. For further information and application details, visit: https://www.northernheartfilms.com/docfund
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