Grant announcement: Slate development support

Application period

The application period ends on January 7, 2021, at midnight.

The aim of the support

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

The purpose of the support is to promote high-quality, diverse and original Finnish film productions.

The purpose of slate development support is to bring continuity to development processes, promote long-term and systematic development work as well as support the realisation of the film production company’s business plan.

To whom?

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

For what purpose and how much?

A slate development support application may include 3–5 separate feature film projects based on an artistic plan. One of the projects may be a serial drama.

The development plan may span a maximum of 24 months.

The support applied for may be less than the maximum amount, and the development plan schedule may be shorter than 24 months, if this is appropriate for the production company and film projects.

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 slate development support is €150,000.

Previous support decisions can be viewed on the Finnish Film Foundation’s support decisions page.

Development support can be applied for and it may be granted in several instalments in order to develop and progress a film project. Development support granted for a film project by the Film Foundation is counted as production support and therefore has an effect on the overall amount of production support.

How to apply?

Applications are submitted to the Foundation’s application system (https://hakemus.ses.fi) by submitting the application and appendices to The Finnish Film Foundation before the deadline noted in the grant announcement.

New applicants must register in the application system. New registrations are processed within a week.

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 read the relevant grant announcement and support guide carefully.

Appendices

Obligatory application appendices:

Project-specific
(application appendices need not be separate files; the applicant may combine the contents of several appendices in the same document):

• synopses, max. one page
• project-specific development plans
• budgets and financial plans for development projects
  Slate development support budgeting, financial plan and reporting form
  
  Development project budgets and acceptable costs
  The budget includes the immediate costs of the development project.
  The budget accounts for the development project expenses without VAT.
  The budget should record the names of the employees as far as they are known during the application process.
  The maximum reimbursement accepted for an overall budget for slate development support is 20% of the production company owner’s work contributions to film development projects as well as the production company’s fixed overhead costs (e.g. rent for a permanent facility, data communications costs).

  Using your own equipment
  The maximum compensation for using your own equipment is 60% of the market-based rental price.

• scripts or other written descriptions of the films’ contents
• CVs of the producer and those artistically responsible for the development projects
• appropriate agreements with copyright holders
  Agreements between the production company and copyright holders that cover at least the previous development stages and the development stage supported by the foundation must be submitted as appendices.
• production-related and financial presentations/plans for the films
• Production company’s business plan, covering the following:
  – introduction, business plan and SWOT analysis of the production company
  – a report on the financial situation and business strategy for the future
  – a report on the production company’s permanent staff and their job descriptions
  – a report on the films and series produced by the production company within the past five years in terms of audience numbers, sales of recordings, foreign sales, visibility at significant film festivals and significant awards won by the films
  – a report on the development support received by the production company within the past five years and the related production stages
  – when applying for new development support, the final report for the previous support for the same film must be submitted into the application system by the final application date

Forms

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 (Limited Liability Companies Act, Chapter 3). (Delivered only once and updated if changes in ownership occur.)

Applicants fill in an application in the online 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.

How are the applications evaluated?

Support may be granted for the development of a film or cultural product that

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

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

The film project is evaluated as a whole in terms of content, expression and production, taking into consideration the applicant’s artistic and professional qualifications and financial prerequisites that contribute to the possibility of completing the project.

In evaluation for slate development support, special attention will be paid to the following:

• Quality and credibility of the production company’s business plan
• The production company’s artistic and financial ability to carry out and complete several simultaneous film projects
• Development support received by the production company within the past five years in relation to film projects implemented
• Audience targets reached as well as international distribution and visibility of films produced by the production company within the past five years
• Artistic quality of project-specific plans
• Quality of project-specific development plans
• Realism and efficiency of project-specific budgets in relation to the development plan
• Amount and quality of other financing included in the development plan (self-financing and/or financing outside the production company)

Special conditions

• The project’s expenses are approved without regard to VAT. If the grant 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 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 actual overall funding of the project must not exceed the project’s actual costs.

Support cannot be granted if the application is insufficient and 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.

Grant decisions are made on week 9.

The decision is based on the Act on the Government’s Support for the Promotion of Film Culture (1174/2018), the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers (688/2001) and the Administrative Procedure Act (434/2003).