Almost 3 million euros are additionally allocated for the shooting of foreign films in Latvia / Article

The Ministry emphasized that the co-financing of the state budget for the shooting of foreign films is an important support for ensuring the operation of companies in the industry and that the services provided by the cinema industry significantly stimulate the development and recognition of the national economy.

With the help of co-financing, employment is effectively promoted in various sectors of the economy, including those not directly related to the film industry, while strengthening the international competitiveness of film industry professionals, as well as creating and popularizing the image of the country.

“In the framework of film projects, the benefit is not only for the Latvian producer who has submitted an application and signed a contract with a foreign producer, but also for several industries that are both directly and indirectly related to the film industry, such as equipment and technology, design and printing, cultural sites and museums, accommodation and catering services, transport and logistics services, real estate rental, security services, cleaning, creation and installation of decorations, services provided by municipalities, etc. In addition, in the context of the business environment, the local cinema industry and other related industries will be developed competence, knowledge and experience, contributing to the strengthening of competitiveness in the region,” emphasized Economy Minister Viktors Valainis (Union of Greens and Farmers).

As you know, in order to promote the attraction of foreign investments, many countries in Europe and the world have created various financial mechanisms, both in the form of taxes and funds, so that foreign film producers are financially interested in shooting films in a given country, recovering part of the invested funding. In March 2022, the Latvian government also approved a state support program developed by the Ministry of Economy for shooting foreign films in Latvia.

The Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) is holding an open competition for the selection of project submissions for the allocation of state co-financing for the shooting of foreign films in Latvia. The 6th round of the 2024 state budget co-financing competition for shooting foreign films in Latvia was announced between November 13, 2023 and December 13, 2023. Within this round, seven projects have been approved, which will be fully or partially implemented in Latvia.

It is planned that the projects of these seven films will attract more than 16 million investments to Latvia in 2024. in the amount of euros.

The planned Latvian state co-financing is in the amount of 3,706,297.85 euros (the financing available to LIAA is 82,200 euros), of which more than 4 million is planned to be received in the state budget in the form of tax payments. euro.

This year, SIA “Cinevilla Films” and Germany’s “Story House Picture GmbH” will implement their project with Latvian co-financing, continuing the shooting of the well-known European drama “SISI 4”. On the other hand, SIA “Film Angels Studio” and Germany’s “Network Movie Film- und Fernsehproduktion GmbH / Studio Zentral” in cooperation with “Netflix Worldwide Entertainment” will create a 7-episode film “Abracadabra”, which will be completely filmed on the territory of Latvia. SIA “White Picture” in cooperation with “Slot Machine SARL” of France will produce the film “Danish Woman”. SIA “White Picture” and Estonia’s “360 Media Oü” have also attracted fairly large investments to Latvia, creating the film “Detective Fox”. The ministry stated that the aforementioned projects will be large-scale with predictable popularity throughout Europe, which will not only directly promote Latvian film industry sectors, but also promote the attraction of new interested parties and investments to Latvia as a country where it is possible to implement large-scale film industry projects in high quality.

As previously informed, the conditions for receiving support are determined by regulations No. 173 “Procedure in which co-financing from the state budget is granted for the shooting of foreign films in Latvia”. The available amount of co-financing for one project is 20% of the total amount of eligible expenses specified in the co-financing agreement, while the amount of co-financing for the items of eligible remuneration costs is 30%. Co-financing is awarded if the film mentioned in the project application meets the following conditions at the same time: the film is fully or partially shot in Latvia; the services of natural or legal persons registered in Latvia are used in the shooting of the film; the total cost of the film project for feature films and animated films reaches at least 711,436 euros, and for documentary films – at least 142,287 euros; on the day of the submission of the project application, the financing available to the foreign producer according to the financing plan is at least 50% of the total costs of shooting the film.

Since 2022, when LIAA took over the administration of the program from the National Cinema Center, a total of 27 film projects have been submitted, of which 16 have received co-financing for the production of foreign film projects in Latvia. The creators of these films invested about 18 million in Latvia. EUR, and Latvian state co-financing of 3.6 million was paid for the mentioned projects. in the amount of EUR, from which more than 4 million were obtained in the state budget in the form of tax payments. euro. So far, within the administered program, the agency has supported the shooting of such films as the 2nd and 3rd season of the drama “Sisi” produced by SIA “Cinevilla Films” and the German “Story House Picture GmbH”, SIA “Film Angels Studio” and the French “Keystone Films” the film “Harbina” produced by “Forma Pro Films” SIA and “Anna Film Production” of Great Britain, the film “Anna” produced by “Forma Pro Films” SIA and “CG Cinema” of France, “Pazušana” produced by “Cinevilla Films” SIA and Germany The film “Smilla’s Snow Feeling” and others produced by “Constantin Television GmbH”.