Is Kickstarter UK a good alternative to BFI Film funding?

We are always seeking ways to get our films off the ground, and getting a film funded is not an easy option. It's a daunting task for filmmakers to even consider looking for money as the creative aspect of filmmaking is far from the concept of 'film financing'. When approaching government bodies like the BFI, or private equity, is this really the best way to go?

My question to you today is: "Is Kickstarter a good alternative to finding finance for your films"?

We've seen the tremendous success of Kickstarter in the US helping filmmakers and creatives raise financing for the films, but does that model apply to the UK? Kickstarter last year rolled out their service in the UK, and so far, several films have managed to find additional sources of funding through the platform. These are two examples:

'Borrowed Time', a drama/ comedy indie feature partly financed by Film London and BBC Films managed to raise over £21,000 on Kickstarter from 360 backers.

Costume designer Hayley Nebauer created a short video about her sci-fi film project and managed to raise £1000+. She exceeded her funding goal, and presented an interesting production concept that attracted 43 backers to fund her plan.

While both these films are fairly different in scope and scale, they both found additional financing through Kickstarter whereas prior to the crowdfunding model, they would have only been able to look for government funding or private donors.

Have you managed to succeed in raising additional finance, or indeed, the bulk of your film budget through Kickstarter or the BFI?