Bermondsey has always been full of stories.
From the docks and warehouses to the estates, arches, markets, workshops and backstreets: this part of London has changed constantly, but the people and memories behind it often disappear before they’re properly captured.
We want to change that.
The Bermondsey Stories Film & Sound Fund: is a new micro-grants programme (£500–£3,000) supporting early-career filmmakers, animators, sound artists and immersive storytellers to create original short-form work inspired by Bermondsey. This grant programme is funded by the local business owners (via their Business Improvement District). The grant can be used alongside other grants and funding.
We’re looking to support projects, typically between 3 and 15 minutes in length, across:
- Live action film
- Documentary
- Animation
- Audio storytelling and sound projects
- Immersive and virtual reality experiences
- Experimental and hybrid formats
Importantly, this is not just about polished production companies or people with long CVs.
We want to support new voices, unusual ideas and emerging creatives who may simply need a small push to get something made.
What We’re Looking For
We’re especially interested in projects that:
- Explore Bermondsey’s history and changing identity
- Capture stories that might otherwise disappear
- Work with older residents and local communities
- Preserve memories, knowledge and lived experience
- Reimagine Bermondsey through fiction, fantasy or speculative storytelling
- Experiment with new formats and creative approaches
The project can be factual, fictional or somewhere in between (we’ll simply ask creators to be clear with audiences about where the work sits).
A film about a hidden tunnel beneath the Thames?
An animated oral history based on local workers’ memories?
A VR recreation of lost Bermondsey streets?
A sound piece built from market traders’ voices?
We want ideas with personality.
We’re Replacing Forms With Conversations
Most creative funding applications are exhausting.
Long forms. Corporate language. Endless PDFs. Applications written for assessors instead of audiences.
We don’t think that’s the best way to discover creative people.
So instead of asking for pages of paperwork, we’d much rather hear directly from you.
Send us:
- A short video recorded on your phone
or - A simple presentation deck with voice notes
or - A screen recording talking through your idea
Tell us:
- What you want to make
- Why Bermondsey matters to the story
- What excites you about the project
- Who you want to involve
- What support you need to make it happen
That’s it.
If this format doesn’t work well for you, you’re completely welcome to apply in whatever format best represents your ideas and abilities.
You do not need expensive equipment, perfect editing or funding experience. We care far more about the strength of the idea, your perspective and your connection to the story.
Supporting Local Memory
One area we particularly want to encourage is intergenerational storytelling.
Bermondsey has changed dramatically over the decades, and many older residents hold stories, knowledge and experiences that are rarely documented properly.
We’d love to see projects that collaborate with older people in the area, not simply as interview subjects, but as contributors, guides and storytellers.
These memories are part of Bermondsey’s cultural infrastructure and deserve to be preserved creatively for future generations.
Funding & Support
Selected projects will receive small development or production grants alongside practical support, introductions and opportunities to showcase completed work locally.
Funding amounts will vary depending on the scale and format of the project, though most grants will range between £500 and £3,000.
We’re particularly interested in projects that can do a lot with a little.
Creators will retain ownership of their work, while allowing the fund and local partners to showcase completed projects as part of the programme.
The grant can be used alongside other grants and funding (Please keep us in the loop as to other funding sources).
Who Can Apply?
You do not need to live in Bermondsey, but your project should have a meaningful connection to the area.
This opportunity is especially aimed at:
- Early-career filmmakers
- Young creatives
- First-time directors
- Local storytellers
- Sound artists
- Animators
- Creative technologists
- Students and recent graduates
- People with unconventional creative backgrounds
If you’ve got a strong idea and the energy to make it happen, we want to hear from you.
Applications Open on a Rolling Basis
Applications are open year-round, with projects reviewed during quarterly selection meetings.
Funding is awarded selectively based on the strength, originality and suitability of proposals received. As this is a curated programme, we may choose not to award funding in a particular round if no submissions are considered the right fit at that time.
Start thinking about the stories that only Bermondsey could produce.
Some of them are disappearing faster than we realise.
