The Hungarian government will announce Monday its plans for restructuring its support of the local film industry.
The Hungarian Ministry of National Resources is expected to unveil a new system which will replace the work of the Hungarian Motion Picture Public Foundation (MMKA). Andy Vajna, government commissioner for the renewal of the national film industry, is likely to administrate the new system.
Sources in Budapest say the Ministry of National Resources on Wednesday dissolved the MMKA, the body which distributes state funding for local production, distribution and promotion.
Details of the goverment’s new plans have not been announced, but local producers anticipate changes in how they access funding.
Producers in Budapest say changes will not affect Hungary’s 20% tax rebate, which has remained intact despite the problems plaguing the local industry. Brussels’ re-evaluation of the law in 2008 interrupted the incentives for more than six months, halting the flow of international productions to Hungarian locations.
Support for local productions in Hungary has been in doubt since last summer when the government froze the MMKA’s funding. Since then, Hungarian producers have received no financing for production or distribution. A scaled-down version of the national film festival, Hungarian Film Week, is scheduled to take place next week.
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