The money will be invested over the next four years following an agreement signed yesterday (October 25)

The Danish government will invest $400m (DKK 2bn) in cinema during the next four years, following an agreement signed yesterday.

Under the new agreement, independent theatres can apply for one-off grants of $37,000 (DKK 200,000) to cover the cost of investing in new digital equipment, and will also be able to apply for subsidies for digital screenings of Danish films.

”This way we cover the whole country, and make sure that local productions are not neglected in their home market,” explained culture minister Per Stig Møller (pictured).

The news has been greeted with a sigh of relief especially by the smaller cinemas, which are faced with stumping up the cost of digitisation.

Besides the $400m, $18.6m (DKK 100m) of radio and television fees will be transferred to film support,  and has been earmarked for the production of 60-75 local features to be produced between 2011-2014.

The Danish Film Institute will administer the fund and will adjust its funding procedures to the current digital and market developments. The level of investment in video and computer games is set to double as a result of the agreement.

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