Chaucer Heritage Trust Film Grant .
The Chaucer Heritage Trust Film Grant is a three-year opportunity for filmmakers to engage with Geoffrey Chaucer’s narratives or life story through contemporary cinema. The Grant is funded by the Chaucer Heritage Trust – a charity which promotes his life and works.
Launching at the BAFTA-Qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival in 2026, the programme will commission one original short film each year across three grant cycles, with the first film premiering at the 2027 festival. The Grant celebrates Chaucer’s enduring influence on storytelling, and invites filmmakers to explore, interrogate, and debate with his writing, characters, ideas, and themes in any way they choose.
With a £20,000 grant available for each commissioned film, the programme supports filmmakers from development through to production and premiere. Alongside financial support, successful filmmakers will receive guidance and executive producing support, as well as the opportunity to connect with audiences and industry through Aesthetica Film Festival. Open to all film genres, the Grant is an invitation to discover new connections between Chaucer and the world today – creating a collection of films that brings his work to new audiences.
Applications Open Until 15 February 2027
The Grant
Geoffrey Chaucer’s work has endured since the late 14th century because of its fascination with people: their ambitions, relationships, contradictions, humour and the stories they tell about themselves and others. Rather than asking filmmakers to simply recreate the medieval world, the programme invites them to find connections between Chaucer’s ideas and contemporary life. The Grant invites filmmakers to make their own interpretations and formulate new responses to Chaucer. Delivered by Aesthetica Film Festival in partnership with the Chaucer Heritage Trust, the initiative will create three original short films across 2027, 2028 and 2029. Each commission will offer a different perspective on Chaucer, contributing to a growing collection of contemporary films that explore his cultural influence and introduce his work to new audiences. The programme formally launches at Aesthetica Film Festival 2026, with the first commissioned film premiering at the 2027 festival.
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Who Was Geoffrey Chaucer?
Geoffrey Chaucer is widely regarded as England’s greatest medieval poet and has been called the father of the English language. Born in London in about 1340, he lived through a time of great turbulence and change. Chaucer died in 1400 and is buried in Westminster Abbey. Chaucer was greatly influenced by Classical and Romance literature and sought to help establish the place of the English language in the global literary canon. His works explore many themes including life, love, religion, society, gender and sexual violence. Chaucer’s poems embrace many genres including tragedy, comedy, satire, sermon and animal fable. His works often mixed and challenged multiple genres – refusing to be constricted by literary and linguistic conventions. Chaucer’s works include The Book of the Duchess, The House of Fame, Troilus and Criseyde, and The Parliament of Fowles. Chaucer is best known for his unfinished masterpiece: The Canterbury Tales.
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What We're Looking For
We are open to filmmakers working across all film genres and forms and want to see ambitious ideas that find an original way into Chaucer’s world and work. Your film could respond directly to one of Chaucer’s works, characters or stories, explore an idea or theme within his writing, or find a connection between his work and contemporary life. You might use his ideas as a starting point for an entirely original story. What matters is the connection you make. We want to see distinctive creative voices and projects that bring Chaucer’s themes to life for audiences today. You might think about identity, class, gender, power, relationships, morality, community, humour, human behaviour and the art of storytelling – or discover your own point of connection. Drama, comedy, documentary, animation, experimental film or something harder to define: if there is a compelling story or idea at its heart, we want to hear it.
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What Do Winners Receive?
The successful filmmaker will receive a £20,000 grant award to make their commissioned short film. The funding is structured to support the project from appointment through production and final delivery, with payments made in stages: 50% on signing the filmmaker contract, 40% following the progress report and rough-cut review, and 10% on delivery of the completed film. But the opportunity goes beyond the funding. The completed film will premiere at Aesthetica Film Festival, with the first commissioned film publicly launched as part of the 2027 festival programme. The premiere will include an official festival screening, programme inclusion, filmmaker Q&A, audience engagement, industry attendance and festival publicity. Throughout the commission, the filmmaker will also receive executive producing and production support, including filmmaker development, production monitoring, milestone reviews and completion support. It is an opportunity to make a film, reach new audiences, meet industry professionals and build relationships around your work. And this is a programme with a longer-term ambition: the successful filmmakers in 2027, 2028 and 2029 will collectively contribute to a growing body of contemporary films inspired by Chaucer.
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Submission Information .
- The Chaucer Heritage Trust Film Grant begins with an open application process. Aesthetica will manage submissions, eligibility review, applicant communications and the administration of applications.
- Following the closing date, applications will be reviewed, and a shortlist selected. Shortlisted filmmakers will then progress to finalist pitching sessions, giving them the opportunity to present their film idea to the judging panel and communicate the creative vision behind their proposal.
- For the first Grant cycle, applications close on 15 February 2027, with shortlisting taking place in early February and finalist pitching sessions scheduled for the third week of February. The successful filmmaker will be announced on 15 March 2027, before the project moves into contracting and production.
- The selected filmmaker will then receive production support throughout the commission. A rough cut and progress report are due by 15 July 2027, followed by final film delivery on 1 October 2027. The completed film will then premiere at Aesthetica Film Festival in November 2027.
- Applications close: 15 February 2027
- Shortlisting: Late February 2027
- Finalist pitches: Early March 2027
- Winner announced: 15 March 2027
- Production begins: March 2027
- Rough cut: 15 July 2027
- Final film delivery: 1 October 2027
- Premiere: November 2027 at Aesthetica Film Festival