Grant announcement: Support for audio description and subtitling for the hearing impaired

Application period

The application period ends on January 11, 2022 at 16:00.

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 purpose of the support is to promote the broad and extensive supply and distribution of Finnish film productions through various distribution channels and platforms as well as to advance the availability and audience share of Finnish films.

To whom?

Support is granted primarily to films that have received the Foundation’s development and production support. Support may be granted to a professional distribution company registered in Finland who owns the film’s Finnish distribution rights, or to a production company that manages the film’s rights in Finland.

The applicant should be the party who has commissioned the audio description or subtitling for the hearing impaired.

For what purpose and how much?

The support is intended to cover the costs of audio description and subtitling for the hearing impaired.

Audio description and subtitling for the hearing impaired are obligatory for feature films and documentaries that have received the marketing and distribution support from the Foundation.

Amount of the support
The maximum amount of support is €7,000.

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

How to apply?

Marketing and distribution support is applied for by submitting an application in the application system before the deadline given in the grant announcement.

The application consist of:

1. an application form
2. the application’s appendices
3. the applicant’s appendices

Prior to submitting an application, you must carefully read the relevant support guide.

The applicant is responsible for submitting the application within the deadline. Applications submitted after the deadline are transferred to the next application period.

Appendices

Obligatory application appendices

The application can be sent once all of the obligatory appendices are uploaded to the application system.

• A signed distribution contract
• A cost statement drafted according to the Foundation’s template

The cost statement should be verified by an accountant and contain the actualised costs and funding.

Forms

The applicant’s appendices

Before the end of the application period, upload the documents of the production company to the Applicant’s appendices.

• A verified financial statement 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
• An up-to-date list of shareholders

How are the applications evaluated?

Support may be granted to the marketing and distribution costs of a film or cultural product that

1. forms an artistic whole,
2. has content that is based on cultural values, originates 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 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. Self-financing and other financing is considered an advantage.

Other support previously granted by the Foundation to the applicant is also taken into account.

Special conditions

• The project’s costs are approved without VAT. If the recipient is shown not to have the right to deduct VAT, costs may be approved with VAT.
• The Foundation may request further information if it deems it necessary for the decision-making process.
• A prerequisite for the support is that the recipient has abided by possible previous support agreements and conditions.
• The Foundation oversees the use of the support and it has the right to audit the recipient’s finances and operations.
• The actualised overall funding of the project must not exceed the project’s actualised 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 support based on the presentation of the CEO.

Applicants receive a written notification.

Support decisions are made on week 10.

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).

Further information

Production controller Pirjo Koskelo, pirjo.koskelo@ses.fi, tel. 09 6220 3031