The Whickers documentary fund for first time directors has announced at IDFA (International Documentary Festival Amsterdam) that it is raising its top grant from £100,000 to £120,000 and its development grant from £20,000 to £25,000.

The Whickers Film & TV Funding Award is awarded annually to an emerging filmmaker from anywhere in the world with the most promising pitch for a director-led documentary which fulfils the core criteria. 

The announcement of the increased funding was made during the launch of the organisation’s annual Cost of Docs survey in which filmmakers are invited to share the realities for their documentary projects.

The Cost of Docs survey has also revealed disparities between the English, Arabic and Spanish speaking world.  As a result, this year the survey is available in English, Arabic and Spanish.  All filmmakers are invited to take part from across the world here.   The survey is open now and will close on 16th December.  There is also a chance to enter our free prize draw for all respondents for two full passes to Sheffield DocFest 2026.

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.”

Applications for The Whickers Film & TV Award 2026 are now open! You can find all details on their Film & TV page.

Expanded Global Bursary Programme

As well as the main film fund The Whickers awards four 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 made directly through the main fund. Any projects entering the Film/TV fund from MENA that may be too early for the main fund will be automatically  considered for the regional bursary with online pre-selection meetings happening before the announcement of the winner in August 2026.

“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.