21/12/2010

In Berlin, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media, Bernd Neumann, announced the creation of a new mechanism for audiovisual funding thanks to an agreement with KfW Bank, approved by the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury. Through this, “the German film industry will be strengthened and the position of producers as well as the sector’s capacity for internationalisation will improve even more”.

Ulrich Schröder, chairman of the bank’s board of directors, reaffirmed his commitment to the sector: “The cultural and creative industries, including cinema, are among the most promising economic sectors in Germany. Nevertheless, funding the production of projects is difficult. That’s why KfW Bank will offer the support the sector deserves”.

In specific terms, the German bank will make financial services available to companies in the sector. These include cash flow, gap financing services and funding for project development and company set-ups. All these forms of funding have been disappearing from the services portfolio of private credit companies and investment banks since the start of the crisis.

With this measure, the ministry is trying to put an end to a situation whereby many seemingly economically viable projects fail to come to fruition due to the impossibility of financing their cash flow or securing full funding.

(Translated from Spanish)