This year's Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event (14-21 November) hosted a session on 21 November called “Filming in Ukraine during Wartime” to signal a decisive new chapter for its screen sector. Andrii Osipov, head of the Ukrainian State Film Agency, unveiled two long-awaited measures designed to bring the country back onto the global production map despite the continued pressures of war: a €50 million cultural fund and a 30% cash-rebate scheme for international shoots.

The cultural fund, Osipov explained, will support a spectrum of creative fields including literature, theatre and, crucially, cinema. Local producers are set to receive the lion’s share of the support – an estimated 70%-90% – while the remainder will be channelled to international co-producers partnering with Ukrainian companies. The measure aligns with Kyiv’s wider push to revive cultural life and reconnect Ukrainian creatives with global partners.

However, the bigger headline, both symbolically and practically, was the long-anticipated decision to introduce Ukraine’s first cash rebate. The 25% base rate will apply to international co-productions filming on Ukrainian soil, with an additional 5% uplift earmarked for projects that actively foreground Ukrainian culture – through language, recognisable locations or portrayals of key historical episodes.

“My main goal is to make international and foreign filmmakers work in Ukraine and work with Ukraine,” Osipov said through an interpreter. “We need international experience. We want the Ukrainian film industry to develop, and we want to develop together with the whole world.” The scheme, he added, was personally proposed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, with the Ministry of Culture expected to release operational details in the coming weeks.

The announcement unfolded under the shadow of Russia’s full-scale invasion, which continues to shape every aspect of filmmaking on the ground. The panel openly addressed the realities facing crews: air-raid alerts that can suspend work without warning, blackouts that disrupt entire shooting days and the complexities of applying for permits under martial law.

Yet the message from Ukrainian institutions was one of resilience, rather than retreat. Oksana Chornobryvtseva, deputy head of the Association of Film Commissions of Ukraine, stressed that commissions remain fully operational and ready to facilitate incoming shoots. “Ukraine is open to support all your production processes as efficiently as possible, even under wartime conditions,” she assured delegates, noting that local offices can arrange additional crew, provide updated safety information and secure emergency power when required.

Despite the turmoil, domestic filmmaking has not come to a halt. According to Osipov, 50 Ukrainian movies have been shot in the country since December 2024. Several of these projects had begun principal photography before the invasion in February 2022 and have since received supplementary public funding – roughly €1 million each – to carry them across the finish line.

One sensitive challenge concerns the mobilisation of filmmakers. Many professionals are eligible for military service, while some are already fighting on the front line. Osipov revealed that the state agency is in active discussions about exemptions and temporary deferments. The Ministry of Culture, he said, intends to create a mechanism allowing filmmakers to complete ongoing projects without fear of sudden mobilisation. “For those who are already mobilised,” he added, “they will have the opportunity to come back from the front line and make their movie.”

As Ukraine braces for another year of uncertainty, Tallinn’s announcement offered a rare moment of strategic clarity – and a signal to the international industry that the country is determined not only to survive, but also to rebuild its cinematic voice in partnership with the entire world.