The Whickers announced November 16 at IDFA that it is increasing its Film & TV Funding Award from £100,000 to £120,000, and its runner-up development award from £20,000 to £25,000. The announcement was made during the launch of the organisation’s annual Cost of Docs survey for which filmmakers are invited to share the real price of documentary production.
The deadline for applications to The Whickers Film and TV Fund is January 30. Further details can be found on the Whickers website.
The deadline to submit responses to the Cost of Docs survey is December 16, and is open to all filmmakers, offering a chance to win two free passes to Sheffield Doc Fest in June 2026.
The deadline for applications to The Whickers Film and TV Fund is January 30. All details for the fund can be found on its website (https://www.whickerawards.com/apply/film-and-tv/) from November 19.
During the ‘Language barriers? Making the case for multilingualism’ session on November 16 at IDFA, Jane Ray, Artistic Director of The Whickers, commented: “We know from our Cost of Docs survey that costs are increasing rapidly and that opportunities for funds are reducing as many are closing in difficult political and economic times. So, the Whickers feels the responsibility to increase their offering to emerging filmmakers in difficult times. We are very fortunate to be in a position to do so through the generous legacy of Alan Whicker.”
Guest speakers at the IDFA Industry session included documentary producer Henrik Underbjerg, who advises International Media Support (IMS) on inequality solutions, and Whicker Award-winner Zahraa Ghandour, whose Arabic-language documentary Flana has its European premiere November 17.
As well as the main film fund, The Whickers awards four ‘no strings attached’ bursaries of £3k in parts of the world where accessing funds at a very early stage for development is especially difficult.
This year, for the first time, the Middle East/MENA award will be granted directly via the main fund. “We have changed the way we are managing our bursaries with ambassadors in Durban and Docedge Kolkata, and want to pilot this new way of finding relevant projects for MENA,” said Jane Ray.
The Cost of Docs survey has previously revealed disparities between the English, Arabic and Spanish-speaking worlds, write organisers. As a result, this year the survey is being made available in English, Arabic and Spanish. There is a free prize draw for all respondents for two full passes to Sheffield DocFest 2026.
Whickers Film & TV Award timeline 2026
- 19th November 2025: Applications open
- 30th January 2026 (23:59 GMT): Applications close
- Late April 2026: Shortlisted projects announced
- June 2026: Finalists pitch their projects at Sheffield DocFest
- June 2026: Winner of the Film & TV Funding Award announced at Sheffield DocFest Awards Ceremony
