Financial support to Film Production
The main objectives of the Greek policy on film production, according to a new law as of 2010, are to promote new artists, to create new jobs, to increase investments in film production, to attract foreign producers and to enhance the outward looking of the Greek film industry.
Supporting film productions with smaller audiences lies to the concept of providing the market with a wider variety of choices and to increase the reach of the
producers by promoting international exchanges. These objectives are mainly pursued through two measures: the provision of financial support and the facilitation
of export and import strategies of both Greek and foreign film productions, mainly by means of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
The responsible public agencies are: the Department of Cinema and Audiovisual Media at the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Greek Film Center, the Thessaloniki International Festival and the National Audiovisual Archives.
For the purposes of the first measure, financial support, the definition of what qualifies a film production as a Greek film product is very interesting in terms of cultural diversity. It has to fulfill two out of the three following criteria: (a) at least up to 51% of dialogues should be in Greek in the original version of the film, (b) at least 51% of shootings should be done in Greece or (c) 51% of its budget should be spent in Greece. Furthermore, in exceptional cases a film production can be designated as Greek as long according to the Greek Film Center criteria, if the
production is related to Greece because of its creator or its content. The Greek Film Center’s criteria for providing financial support to a production
are not based on expected profits. Rather, the objective is to promote the creation and distribution of films that tend to address specific issues of the Greek contemporary society: i.e. integrate immigrants; highlight marginal social groups; bring forth issues related to internal family dynamics or gender mainstreaming; address the challenges of cohabitation with neighboring peoples in the South East of Europe; facilitate the expression of specific social groups in the Greek society.
The Greek Film Center is responsible for deciding on the funding of productions. It is a nonprofit legal entity4. Its main goal is to promote film productions in Greece. Its policy emphasizes the promotion of young creators. 80% of its budget comes mainly from taxation and the rest comes from European Union funding and other sources.