Grant announcement: Development support

Application period

The application period ends October 26, 2021 at 23:59.

The aim of the support

The aim of the Finnish Film Foundation is to promote the diverse and professional production of films in Finland. The Foundation’s values include participation, pluralism, cultural diversity and artistic freedom.

The aim of the support is to promote high-quality, diverse and innovative filmmaking in Finland.

To whom?

Development support may be granted to a film production company registered in Finland with the professional and financial prerequisites to produce films and to manage their commercial rights in Finland.

For what purpose and how much?

The development support is aimed at the production of a fictional or documentary short or feature film, serialized work, animation, children’s film or combination thereof.

The support may be directed at writing and developing a script, production plans, cinematography and stage design plans and other operations necessitated by the budget and financing arrangements.

The amount of support
The maximum amount of development support is €250,000.

Previous support decisions may be viewed from the Foundation’s support decisions page.

How to apply?

Applications are submitted to the application system by submitting the application and appendices to The Finnish Film Foundation before the deadline noted in the grant announcement. Applications submitted after the deadline are transferred to the next application period.

Applicants fill in an application in the application system that consists of an electronic application form and the necessary 1) application appendices and 2) the applicant’s appendices that are uploaded into the system.

Instructions for the application system

Prior to submitting an application, the applicant must carefully read the relevant grant announcement and support guide.

Appendices

Obligatory application appendices:

• a script or other written description of the film’s contents
• a one-page synopsis
• a development plan drafted according to the Film Foundation’s template
• a development budget
  The budget includes the immediate expenses of the development project.
  The budget accounts for the development project expenses without VAT.
  The development budget must not include incidental expenses or administrative costs which are instead budgeted in the film production’s total budget.
  The budget should record the name of the employees as far as these are known during the application process. 

  Wages and salaries of the staff and the owner of the production company
  The wages and salaries of the regular staff are marked under expenses in the budget in euros.
  The work performed by the owner of the production company is recorded in the budget as a single reimbursement.
  
  Using your own equipment
  The maximum compensation for using your own equipment is 60% of the market-based rental price.
  The use of the production company’s own equipment should be marked clearly in the budget by, for example, marking the cost as “own”.

• financial plan
  The financial plan should be uploaded as a separate file in the application’s appendices by selecting Financial Plan as the appendix type.
  The financial plan must include the status of the funding itemised by groups based on the situation on the date of submission.

• when applying for new development support, the final report for the previous support must be submitted into the application system by the final application date

The applicant’s obligatory appendices:

• A verified and audited financial statement (if the Limited-liability Companies Act, the Audit Act or the articles of association necessitate an auditor) covering the latest financial period.
• a valid extract from the Trade Register no older than six months
• a certificate of paid taxes no older than three months
• a certificate of paid pension insurance premiums no older than three months
• a current shareholders’ register (the Limited-liability Companies Act, chapter 3). The shareholders’ register is delivered only once and updated if changes in ownership occur.

Applicants fill in an application in the application system that consists of an electronic application form and the necessary 1) application appendices and 2) the applicant’s appendices that are uploaded into the system.

Applicants should start preparing the application well before the deadline.

The Film Foundation development plan, budgeting and report forms are on the Foundation’s website.

Forms

How are the applications evaluated?

Support may be granted to develop a cultural product that

1. forms an artistic whole,
2. has content that is based on cultural values originating in cultural identity,
3. includes a significant contribution by significant creators and artists, and where the share of wages and salaries of the overall production costs is significant.

Support is discretionary. The evaluation and comparison of the applications is based on an overall assessment that considers the purpose of the funds, the grounds mentioned in the call for applications and available funds in the budget. Other support previously granted by the Film Foundation to the applicant is also taken into account.

The film project’s content, artistry and production are evaluated as a whole, and the evaluation takes into consideration the applicant’s artistic and professional qualifications that contribute to the probability of completing the project.

Special conditions

• The project’s costs are approved without VAT. If the recipient does not have the right to VAT deductions, the costs may be approved with VAT.
• The Film Foundation may request further information if it deems it necessary for the decision-making process.
• A prerequisite for granting the support is that the recipient has complied with possible earlier support agreements and met their conditions.
• The Film Foundation signs a support contract with the recipient.
• The Film Foundation oversees the use of the support and it has the right to audit the recipient’s finances and operations.
• The recipient must provide a written report and a financial report detailing the use of the support.
• The actualised overall funding of the project must not exceed the project’s actualised costs.

Support cannot be granted if the application is insufficient or the required information is not uploaded into the online application system despite requests to do so.

Decisions

The Board of the Finnish Film Foundation decides on the development and production support based on the presentation of the Film Commissioner.

Applicants receive a written notification.

Support decisions are made on week 50.

The decision is based on the act of government funding for the advancement of cinema (56/2018), the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers (688/2001) and the Administrative Procedure Act (434/2003).