Financing
Denmark
The Danish Film Institute supports international co-production of shorts, features and documentary films. In addition to national support, there are two regional funds covering the west area of Denmark (Den Vestdanske Filmpulje) and the Funen area (FilmFyn). The regional funds focus their investment on co-productions that have artistic or technical participation from, or provide business and exposure to, their specific region. Danish co-productions in recent years include the Oscar-nominated feature film Song of the Sea (2014).
Norway
The Norwegian Film Institute supports co-productions of feature films, shorts, documentaries and TV series. The grants are non-recoupable and there are no spend requirements. Norway also has three regional investments funds, provided that parts of the production takes place in the region of either Northern Norway (Filmfond Nord), Central Norway (Filminvest 3), or Western and Southern Norway (Mediefondet Zefyr). And if you are a feature film producer based in Asia, Africa or Latin America, you can team up with a Norwegian producer an apply to Sør Fond. In addition, Norway has a 25% tax rebate on spend in Norway, but the scheme is not automatic and has application deadlines twice a year.
Sweden
The Swedish Film Institute supports international co-productions of feature films, shorts, and documentaries. Sweden also has four regional investment funds, with spend requirements covering the Stockholm region (Filmregion Stockholm-Mälardalen), the South-Western area (Film i väst), the Northern region (Filmpool Nord), and the Southern region (Film i Skåne). Sweden will also from 2022 have a 25% tax rebate, the scheme will not be automatic and has a cap at $11.6m.
Finland
Finland has a fast, simple and reliable 25% cash rebate scheme. For animation productions a minimum budget is EUR 5,500 per minute, while the minimum spend in Finland must be EUR 250,000. For feature films the total budget has to be at least EUR 2.5 million, with a minimum spend of EUR 150,000 in Finland. For animated documentaries, the scheme applies to productions with a total budget of EUR 325,000 and a minimum spend of EUR 50,000 in Finland. Co-production support from the The Finnish Film Foundation is eligible as long as the film receives distribution in Finland, the project has relevance for Finnish audiences and there is a possibility for further co-operation between the parties. The amount of production support for minority co-productions has ranged from EUR 50,000 to EUR 500,000, depending on the Finnish creative/technical input. Furthermore, The Finnish national broadcaster YLE invests in co-productions, and pre-buys are also possible without a Finnish co-producer. The venture capital fund IPRVC invests in intellectual property in digital media, communications and entertainment.
Iceland
Icelandic Film Centre offers dedicated co-producing funds as long as the project has elements of Icelandic culture. Grants from the Icelandic Film Centre can be made to support the writing of manuscripts, development, production, post-production and promotion. Iceland has also succeeded in attracting major American and European productions through a 25% tax rebate scheme on all costs incurred during the production of films and television programmes in Iceland.
Extra-National Funds
In addition to the national funding schemes, the Nordic region shares two extra-national production funds. Collaboration with the Nordics also qualifies for support from Eurimage.
Nordisk film og TV Fond
Nordisk Film og TV Fond supports the production of feature films, feature length documentaries, TV series and distribution. In order to be eligible for funding, the delegate producer needs to be based in one of the Nordic countries.
International Sami Film Institute
The International Sami Film Institute grants support for both scriptwriting, development, production, and distribution of shorts, features, and documentaries. The institute is based in Norway, but covers the Sami region in Sweden, Finland, Russia, and Norway. Films are eligible if the film has a Sami subject matter and contains Sami dialogue.
