Minister announces new grant system
At the Media Days held last week in Munich (October 18-20), the German Minister for Culture Bernd Neumann revealed details to producers and directors on the new grant model for film production that will become effective in early 2007.
According to Neumann, the new measures represent "a significant step forward for competitiveness for German cinema and the attractiveness of the country". For the next three years, he explained, "the State will allocate the film industry €60m in annual supplementary funding". Neumann has also guaranteed that this funding will be transparent and not bureaucratic – it will not require a jury, advisors or intermediaries.
From now on, the Minister added, each producer working in Germany will be reimbursed 16% to 20% of production expenses in Germany, regardless of the size of the project (starting at €1m). This should also have the advantage of offering guarantees to studios and technicians in terms of job security in the sector. The details of this new system are available on the Ministry of Culture website.
The production incentive will be presented to the European Commission, who are expected to approve it as funding to cultural goods.
(Translated from French)
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