As the UK Film Council's regional partner, we distribute funds from the National Lottery here in the South West. We want to hear from organisations and individuals based in the region who need financial support for creative film and media projects which start after 1 April 2008 and run for no more than 18 months.

Both the focus and procedure of our Lottery funding have been revised and simplified this year. We no longer offer money under three separate funds and now focus our support on projects which can achieve these outcomes:

• increased skills and creativity via projects which develop people and organisations;
• extended access and participation which encourages more people to enjoy the moving image in the South West;
• promotion and heightened profile of the South West's creative and media sector;
• positive social and cultural impact at a local and/or regional level.

We will prioritise applications from new applicants or projects submitted by previously successful applicants which are significantly different in aims.

We have also simplified the application process: application forms will soon be available online and a short pre-application form will allow us to assess the suitability of your project.

Under the Lottery funds, we have a total pot of £230,000. The maximum size of a grant will be £20,000. However, the average award will be between £5,000 and £8,000.

Three panels will be held during the year. All applications will be discussed by the panel which will make final decisions.

Please click on the links below to download a pre-application form and full application guidelines:

Pre-application form

Lottery application guidelines

The next pre-application deadline is 6 October 2008.

Please note that proposals for the production of short films intended for festival or cinema distribution are not eligible under these funds. If you have a short film idea, please look here for details of the Digital Shorts Scheme.