Details of the new law
According to the new Film Law, a film is considered 'Polish' if the producer or one of the co-producers has its main office in Poland and fulfils at least one of the following set of conditions:
The author of the script or the novel the script is based on, the director and one of the leading actors are Polish citizens; the level of participation of the producer based in Poland is 100% and at least 80% of the production money is spent in Poland; the first copy is in Polish;
The author of the script or the novel the script is based on, or the director, or one of the leading actors is a Polish citizen; the level of participation of the co-producer based in Poland is at least 20% if the co-production is bilateral and 10% if there are more partners; at least 80% of the production money is spent in Poland; the first copy is in Polish;
The request for subsidies to develop, produce, distribute and promote a film can be sent by any citizen of Poland or of the EU or of the EFTA (European Free Trade Association) who is a film professional. Subsidies are subject to refund, provided the supported project makes profit.
The sum provided by the Polish Film Institute cannot exceed:
1. 50% of the total budget and
4 million zlotys (1 million euros) for a fiction of more than 70 minutes designed to be screened in film theatres;
500,000 zlotys (125,000 euros) for a documentary;
2 million zlotys (500,000 euros) for a full-length documentary designed to be screened in film theatres;
500,000 zlotys (125,000 euros) for an animation film;
3 million zlotys (750,000 euros) for a feature-length animation film (70 minutes at least) designed to be screened in film theatres;
2.90% of the total budget and
. 2 million zlotys (500,000 euros) if the film is 'artistically ambitious';
.1.6 million zlotys (400.000 euros) if it is a 'low-budget' movie.
For other projects which concern cinema (infrastructural investments, film promotion, distribution, script development), the granted sum cannot exceed:
50% of the budget if the request comes from a company,
90% of the budget if the request comes from a non-profit institution.
The amount granted cannot exceed 3 million zlotys (750,000 euros).
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