The BFI has announced new development projects through its Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF). Designed to boost the strength of UK production, the Development Fund backs producers from all corners of the UK, providing a vital avenue of support for creators of new original content for audiences up to 18 years old. The latest slate demonstrates how the fund is bringing opportunities to new and emerging voices with a diverse range of projects that are intended for broadcast but are not yet in a position to secure a commission.

Five animated or mixed-media projects are included in the list: Animation Garden’s LGBT+ positive sketch show for kids 6-12, Mustard and Ketchup; Rebecca Atkinson’s disability visibility series Mix Mups (Mackinnon and Saunders); LoveLove Films’ MIPTV pitch winner Pop Paper City; The Sound Collector, featuring a main character who wears hearing aids, from Eagle vs. Bat; and Illuminated Films’ storybook adaptation Rocket, about an adventurous girl with an insatiable curiosity.

Illuminated Films’ snappy, thoughtful and rewarding animated preschool adventure Rocket is based on the book Look Up! by Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola. Rocket is an inquisitive, excitable young girl with an insatiable thirst for knowledge and understanding. We follow her journey growing up testing, trying, and learning new things (to varying degrees of success) and exploring her identity as a young girl of West Indian heritage, living in a diverse and bustling inner city.