Film Funding Fest

At first glance, the plan sounds like a further example of cultural charity, a chance for producers "with domicile or establishment in Germany" to reclaim up to 20 percent of their production costs. But on closer inspection, there is a definite economic overtone to the financial package which earmarks 60 million euros ($80 million) annually for the next three years.

In a document outlining the new initiative, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) says the scheme is designed "to promote German film as a cultural good and to provoke a long-term impact on Germany as a production location, with the accompanying economic effects."

The list of desired effects includes a greater number of productions, both domestic and foreign, shooting on location and in studios in Germany, promotion of German creative talent, and a whole gamut of production sundries, ranging from print processing and lab work to music recording and SFX.

Enhanced production location image

State Secretary for Media and Culture Bernd Neumann said he believes the new model will make Germany "more attractive as a production location for major international production companies," thereby helping to create more jobs, and having "an impact on the economy that will be considerably higher than the amount provided in government assistance."

And that may turn out to be the case, but at this stage not everyone in the nation’s movie business is bubbling with enthusiam about the new plan. Steffen Schmidt-Hug, managing director of Germany’s Association of Directors, has mixed feelings.

"The new model is a good thing for the film industry in so far as it can make small budgets that bit bigger, which in turn might mean bigger and better films, but smaller, more cultural films need funding too," Steffen Schmidt-Hug said.

In order to qualify for one of the new production cost reimbursement grants, a feature film project has to have a budget of at least 1 million euros, a figure which is simply out of reach for many small and medium-sized companies.

"The requirements are very tough for smaller companies, as they are also expected to secure a distributor from an approved list before they start shooting," Schmidt-Hug said. "The fact is that many films, particularly the more experimental, cultural ones, don’t have a distributor at that stage."

Higher production value

For Berlin-based producer Jens Meurer, the case of culture versus the economy is not so black and white.

"The bottom line is that all film is cultural," he said. "In my view cinema is a key cultural activity in any modern society, which makes this a cultural scheme with good economic side effects."

He believes the reimbursement scheme will lead to increased production value in German film.

"Filmmaking is a global business, there are funding schemes in every country, every region of the world, and there is competition between the regions. If you have a good scheme, combined in Germany with other attractive opportunities, you can create attractive co-production opportunities," Meurer said.

And while the call for profitable co-productions is echoed right throughout the industry, Schmidt-Hug is worried that the application criteria make it less of a film fund, than a "hotelier fund," which will attract and feed a disproportionate number of large-scale foreign productions.

"There is greater emphasis on whether a film is shot in Germany than whether it is made by a German," he said. "The money should be invested in creative budgets and should ultimately be visible on the cinema screen."