- New Planet Health Film Fund will award five independent filmmakers £20,000 each to create bold, original documentaries exploring how our health is deeply connected to the health of our environment
- The initiative brings together leading creative industry partners including BAFTA Albert, YouTube, Together Films and Screen Language, with the completed films set to premiere at SXSW London 2027
Bupa, the international healthcare company, and Earthrise, a social-first documentary and storytelling studio exploring human nature, have joined forces to launch the Planet Health Film Fund, a new £100,000 international initiative supporting bold, original documentary storytelling.
The fund will award five independent filmmakers £20,000 each to create original short documentaries exploring one of the defining questions of our time: how deeply is our own health connected to the health of the world around us?
The initiative builds on Bupa's commitment to creating healthier communities, bringing its global healthcare expertise into the world of independent filmmaking and cultural storytelling.
Launched with BAFTA Albert as Sustainability Partner, alongside SXSW London, YouTube, Together Films and Screen Language as Programme Partners, the fund will provide filmmakers with production funding, creative mentorship and industry expertise. The five completed films are set to receive their world premiere at SXSW London 2027, before reaching global audiences through a digital release.
The programme will also bring together an exceptional international jury of award-winning filmmakers and industry leaders, including Academy Award-nominated director Tamara Kotevska (Honeyland), Sundance and Cannes award-winning filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr. (Lizard, My Father's Shadow), Paola Mottura, Director of Film Funds at Sundance Institute, Netflix's Kate Townsend, BAFTA Albert’s Matt Scarff, and indigenous climate activist and filmmaker Nina Gualinga, among others yet to be announced. Together, they will select five ambitious documentary projects, championing originality, creative excellence and fresh perspectives on the relationship between people and the natural world.
From the air we breathe and the food we eat to the places we call home, our wellbeing is inseparable from the natural world. The Planet Health Film Fund will seek out bold, personal and unexpected stories that bring this connection to life, inviting audiences to rethink what it means to live well in a rapidly changing world.
A new chapter in Bupa and Earthrise's creative partnership
The fund builds on the success of Planet Health Stories, the 2025 collaboration between Bupa and Earthrise, which brought together 12 filmmakers from six countries to explore the connections between nature, community and wellbeing for a social-first storytelling project.
The series reached more than 31 million people online, with 93% of surveyed viewers reporting that they felt more connected to nature after watching.
Now, Bupa and Earthrise are taking that ambition further, investing directly in independent filmmakers and creating a new international platform for original documentary storytelling at the intersection of health, culture and the environment.
Fiona Bosman, Global Brand Director at Bupa, said: "At Bupa, we believe that healthy people need healthy environments. But making that connection meaningful takes more than facts and figures. Stories have an extraordinary power to change how we see the world, connect us to experiences beyond our own and inspire us to think differently about our health.
We're incredibly proud to launch the Planet Health Film Fund with Earthrise and to work alongside such an inspiring group of creative industry partners. This is an opportunity to support filmmaking talent from around the world and bring powerful new perspectives on health and the environment to global audiences."
Alice Aedy, Co-founder of Earthrise and National Geographic Explorer, said: "The connection between human health and the health of our planet is profound, yet remains surprisingly underexplored. We believe in the power of storytelling to shift perspectives and inspire meaningful change. In an increasingly crowded attention economy, social-first storytelling allows us to meet audiences where they are, cutting through the noise with stories that resonate. Through this fund, we're giving independent filmmakers the creative freedom to tell bold, original stories that combine cinematic ambition with the reach of digital platforms to create lasting impact."
Applications now open
Applications for the Planet Health Film Fund open on 29 October 2026, with documentary filmmakers from around the world invited to submit proposals for original short films.
The five selected projects will be announced in early 2027, with production taking place in the months leading up to the films' world premiere at SXSW London.
Applications close on 16 November 2026 at 6pm GMT.
Notes to editors
About the Planet Health Film Fund
The Planet Health Film Fund is a £100,000 international documentary initiative launched by Bupa and Earthrise, supporting five independent filmmakers to create bold, authored 10-minute documentaries exploring how our health is deeply connected to the health of our environment.
Each selected filmmaker will receive £20,000 in production funding, alongside creative mentorship, industry workshops and support from Earthrise and the programme's partners.
The fund is supported by BAFTA Albert as Sustainability Partner, with SXSW London, YouTube, Together Films and Screen Language as Programme Partners. The completed films are set to receive their world premiere at SXSW London 2027, followed by a global online release.
Filmmakers retain ownership of their work.
Applications open on 29 October 2026. Full eligibility criteria and application details are available at planethealthfilmfund.com
About Bupa
Bupa is a healthcare company that looks after the health of more than 60 million people worldwide. The partnership between Earthrise and Bupa was founded on a shared belief that for humans to be healthy, they need a healthy place to live. What if we could bring together the science of human health and the data that reveals how our environments affect us? Bupa is on a mission to discover patterns we’ve never seen before, understand what makes some environments healthier than others and to turn those insights into more personal ways to prevent illness and help people live longer, healthier, happier lives and to make a better world.
Learn more about Bupa's Healthy Cities campaign.
About Earthrise
Earthrise is a documentary studio and media platform producing high-impact, multimedia climate storytelling for a global Gen Z audience. Earthrise has reached hundreds of millions of people worldwide, shaping cultural narratives, public engagement and action on the climate crisis. Known for combining rigorous journalism with emotionally resonant storytelling, Earthrise has led partnerships with brands, charities and global platforms, resulting in a Webby Award with Google Arts & Culture and a Cannes Lion for Sounds Right with Spotify. Clients include Patagonia, Meta and Oxfam, with work spanning digital, film and broadcast for YouTube Originals, BBC Natural History Unit and Bloomberg Originals.
Media enquiries
Earthrise
Emily Copley: Planet Health Film Fund Project Manager and Producer
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)7880 901 067
Website: planethealthfilmfund.com
