The German coalition government has earmarked a substantial increase for national film funding in its draft budget for 2025.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s cabinet has proposed increasing the money available for the national cultural film funding programme run by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM).
Funding for shorts and feature-length projects will have an additional €7.5m to allocate in 2025, bringing the total to €18m. Another €2m is set to be channelled into the fund for 2026-2027, taking the total available to €20m.
Meanwhile, a new funding category to support projects b up-and-coming filmmaking talents will be introduced as a joint initiative with the federal states to complement the national production fund. An initial annual budget of €7.2m is planned next year, rising up to €8.5m by 2027, with the funding applications administered by the Kuratorium junger deutscher film.
Support for the development of projects is also to be given a boost with an annual budget of €4.5m (increasing to €5m by 2027), while smaller arthouse distributors are set to benefit from €2m in support, up from €1.4m.
There is also an additional €1m in the draft budget for German Films’ activities in promoting German films around the world which would supplement its annual budget of €4.8m.
This injection of funding for BKM’s culturally oriented programme would be in addition to ongoing plans by Claudia Roth, the state minister for culture and the media, to reform the German Film Law (FFG) as well as the introduction of a tax incentive model and investment obligation from the beginning of 2025.
The aim of the BKM’s fund is to strengthen the artistic standing of German cinema as well as its diversity through the production of full-length fiction films, documentaries, children’s films and shorts.
Producers can apply for up to €500,000 in non-repayable grants, with up to €1m paid out in exceptional cases.
Films recently receiving production support from BKM include this year’s opening film at the Munich International Film Festival, Natja Brunckhorst’s Two For One, which X Verleih will be launching in German cinemas tomorrow (July 25). Others to receive funding are RP Kahl’s adaptation of the Peter Weiss play The Investigation, Soleen Yuseef’s Winners, the opening film at Berlinale Generation Kplus last February as well as new projects by Maria Speth (Man Lebt, Weil Man Geboren Ist), Christian Petzold (Miroirs No. 3) and Ann Oren (Objet A).
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