BMT OriginalBMT Studios
Where Black Muslim Stories Come to Life
We commission, produce, and distribute premium original content for a global audience.
The originals slate
Commissioned by BMT Studios, owned outright, and streaming on BMT Direct.
- BMT Original
BMT Original
BMT Original- BMT Original
BMT OriginalThe Light of the Sahel
Documentary · Faith · January 2026
A caravan of scholars. A thousand years of memory.
BMT Original- BMT Original
- BMT Original
Creator guidelines
Read this before you pitch. It is the same brief our commissioners work from.
What we commission
Formats currently open across all four commissioning windows.
- Returnable drama, 6 to 8 parts, contemporary or historical
- Comedy, single camera, 22 to 30 minutes
- Documentary, feature length and 3-part series
- Kids and family, animation and live action, ages 4 to 12
- Faith and knowledge, seerah, tafsir, scholarship on location
- Sport and factual entertainment, athlete-led and community-led
What we stand for
Every commission is measured against these three tests.
- Authenticity. The story is told by people who live it, not observed from outside
- Faith-conscious. Halal to watch with your family, without flattening the drama
- Representation on and off camera, we fund crews, not just casts
- Specificity over generality. Kano, Brixton and Harlem, never 'somewhere Muslim'
- Craft. Cinema-grade image, sound and score, no exceptions for budget
What to send us
Incomplete submissions are returned rather than rejected, send all five.
- One-page synopsis with logline and intended audience
- Script sample (first 10 pages) or a treatment for unscripted
- Indicative budget range and any finance already attached
- Pilot, sizzle or prior work that shows how it will look and sound
- Rights position, what you own and what is still to clear
Commissioning & co-production
Three ways a project gets financed at BMT. We will tell you which one fits on the first call.
Licensing
You keep the negative; BMT buys an exclusive or non-exclusive streaming window and pays a flat licence fee on delivery.
- Flat fee paid 50% on signature, 50% on delivery
- Terms from 12 to 36 months, renewable
- You retain festival, theatrical and broadcast rights outside the window
Revenue share
Finished work goes live on BMT Direct and earns a share of subscription revenue based on watch time.
- 55/45 split in the creator's favour on attributed watch time
- Monthly statements, payouts from £50
- Non-exclusive, you can distribute elsewhere in parallel
Co-production
BMT Studios puts cash, crew and post facilities into the budget alongside your finance, and rights are split accordingly.
- BMT typically funds 30–60% of a production budget
- Shared IP with agreed sequel and format rights
- Access to in-house grade, mix and localisation at cost
Territorial rights, plainly
A global deal gives BMT one worldwide streaming right. Simplest to administer, and it pays the most because the title carries every market we serve. A regional deal carves out territories: BMT might take UK, EU and North America while you keep Nigeria, the Gulf or South Asia for a local broadcaster. We are comfortable with both. What we do not do is take world rights and leave them unexploited. Every deal carries a use-it-or-return-it clause.
Press & recognition
Where the slate has played, and what has been said about it.
Official Selection
London Film Festival 2025, The Harlem Standard
Best Documentary
Zanzibar International Film Festival 2025
Jury Prize
Ajyal Film Festival, Doha 2025, Kano Nights
Nominated
Grierson Awards 2026, Khartoum Notebooks
Official Selection
Africa International Film Festival 2025
Audience Award
Muslim International Film Festival 2026, Brixton Fajr
“The most confident new British studio since the streaming boom began.”
“BMT is not chasing an audience. It already had one, and finally built the shelf.”
Press kit
Stills, key art, logline sheets and executive bios for every title on the slate. Available on request while the download centre is being built.
Bring us the film nobody else would fund
Commissioning windows open four times a year. Submissions are read by a human, and every complete pitch gets an answer.