BAFTA awards over £270,000 to support 112 emerging creatives

• BAFTA has awarded more than £270,000 to 112 emerging creatives in the UK and North America.
• The Prince William BAFTA Bursary will support 100 recipients this year.

BAFTA has awarded more than £270,000 in grants to 112 emerging creatives across the UK and North America through its 2026 bursary and scholarship programmes. 

The funding is intended to support early-career talent who are pursuing careers in film, games, and television. This year, 100 creatives will receive support through the Prince William BAFTA Bursary, a 40% increase on last year. 

BAFTA shared that 98% of its 2024 and 2025 bursary recipients said the grant enabled them to access career opportunities they otherwise could not have taken up. Another 88.2% reported that receiving the bursary significantly boosted their confidence in entering the industry, while 94.1% felt better equipped to secure their next professional role. 

Supporting emerging talent 

Among the recipients is Aiden, a 2025 bursary recipient who studied game design and now works as an assistant producer at EA. 

“It's hard to know what benchmark for success there is, it's hard to find direction or know where your career is headed, so at the time when I received the bursary, I really needed that confidence boost, that self-assurance,” Aiden said.

“Having an organisation like BAFTA show that support and say you and your work are worth investing in is fantastic and helps so much when applying to jobs.”

BAFTA said 77% of this year’s bursary recipients live outside London, with funding intended to help emerging creatives across the UK access opportunities in the screen industries. 

Hilary Rosen, BAFTA deputy chair, said the programmes provide grants to people who might otherwise struggle to enter the screen industries. 

“BAFTA is passionate about the need to invest in fresh talent that the future of our industries relies on. The Prince William BAFTA Bursary and Scholarships programmes do exactly this – giving life-changing grants to emerging creatives who otherwise might well have been locked out of a career in the screen arts,” Rosen said.

“We are delighted to announce the 2026 cohort and can’t wait to see what they go on to achieve. We know they will have impact.”