MUMBAI: UK Film Council's (UKFC) Development Fund programme will pump approximately $445,000 into 18 debut projects from new and emerging filmmakers.

The debut film list includes movies like Bola Agbaje's bigscreen adaptation of her coming-of-age play Gone Too Far!, Catherine Shepherd's Like a Virgin, Natasha Wood's Rolling With Laughter, Richard Milward's Apples and Richard T. Kelly's Lucie Gunn.

Development Fund head Tanya Seghatchian said, "The breadth of talent that we are supporting through this programme is genuinely exciting and we hope that nurturing these great new voices will be the key for the enrichment of our industry."

The Development Fund's First Feature Film Development Program makes awards four times a year and averages 70 applications per month, according to the UKFC.