The Production Finance Market (PFM) is our annual two-day financing event for film, run in association with the BFI London Film Festival.

The 20th edition took place on 6-7 October 2026 in Central London.

The call for applications opens each year in May and closes in late June. Please subscribe to Film London's mailing list to be informed when applications open and to keep up to date on other industry opportunities.

With twenty annual editions behind it, the Market has helped forge countless long-term business connections, and is the only event of its kind in the UK.

From encouraging new business relationships to attaching international sales companies and securing various forms of investments in companies and film projects, PFM is invaluable for producers and financiers alike.

The PFM is focused on feature film projects, including Animation and feature documentaries and has two distinct strands.

Which market strand is for me?

The main strand of the PFM is for projects presented by established producers with budgets above €1m (budget requirement does not apply to documentaries) and focuses on curated one-to-one meetings.

The New Talent strand (NTS) is for filmmaking teams (producer and director) applying with their first or second feature and includes pitch training and project mentoring as part of its programme.

What to expect

The Market includes a fireside chat with an industry leader. Our 2026 guest speaker was Stephen Kelliher, managing director of Bankside Films. Past speakers have included Will Clarke, the founder of Altitude Media Group, industry powerhouse Anna Higgs, award-winning producer Paul Webster, screenwriter, producer and director James Schamus; Alison Owen, founder of Monumental Pictures, Elizabeth Karlsen, co-founder Number 9 Films, Ben Roberts CEO of the BFI, Michael Barker, co-president of Sony Pictures Classics, Alison Thompson, co-founder Cornerstone Films and Danny Perkins, former UK CEO of STUDIOCANAL.

The Market comprises intense networking and pitching meetings between financiers and producers. Taking the form of ‘speed dating’ sessions, producers have around 20 minutes to impress each financier before moving on to their next meeting. This streamlined schedule enables producers to meet many more financiers than usually possible.

In addition to the PFM’s usual offering of informal networking opportunities and industry sessions, in 2026 PFM merged with Film London’s IP Showcase, Upstream.

Upstream is an annual in-person event as well as a monthly online showcase on Substack, connecting IP creators and representatives from all story-led creative fields with film, TV and games producers, publishers investors, development execs and distributors. Upstream LIVE @ PFM took place on the second morning of the PFM and featured 8 presentations of new, exciting IP ripe for adaptation.

The 2026 edition of the PFM continued its international partnerships with Tallinn Black Nights, EAVE, MIFF 37 South, Ontario Creates, HessenFilm & Medien, The National Film and Video Foundation South Africa, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, The Netherlands Film Commission, and Ffilm Cymru, S4C, and Creative Wales’ Sinema Cymru programme. For 2026, a new partnership was established with The Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in Singapore.

The Market is supported by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) and the Mayor of London and takes place in association with the BFI London Film Festival.