The Austrian government is planning to pay out €5m ($7.1m) to film projects this year after ‘fast-tracking’ the introduction of its production incentive.

The scheme, which is modelled on Germany’s Federal Film Fund (DFFF), was announced by Austrian economics minster Reinhold Mitterlehner on Thursday (January 21). €5m will be paid out this year to qualifying projects, and €7.5m in each of the following two years.

The grants for Austrian feature films and documentaries as well as international co-productions and co-financing will only be awarded if the production costs paid out in Austria for film-related goods and services are at least 25% of the total production costs. (This could also be 20% for large productions with a budget over €10m or in specific individual cases.)

The maximum support for a single project will amount to 25% of the Austrian production costs or 15% of the fund’s annual budget.

Mitterlehner said: “We are hoping to strengthen of our internationally recognised film industry. Moreover, we want to attract more co-productions from abroad.”

Roland Teichmann, director of the Austrian Film Institute (ÖFI) welcomed the introduction of the new incentive as “a catalyst for the film industry, which compliments the existing film funding programmes very well.”

It is understood that the international awards garnered by Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon and actor Christoph Waltz, for his role in Inglourious Basterds, prompted the Austrian government to ‘fast track’ its plans.

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