Provision procedure for production support: Letter of Commitment
The Finnish Film Foundation may commit to the financing of a film with set conditions and time limit during the funding process by granting the project a Letter of Commitment or LOC.
This enables the producer to e.g. secure other funding for the project.
Letter of Commitment
Film Commissioners may propose to reserve Production Support for a project with a Letter of Commitment (LOC) under certain conditions and a time limit, in order for the project to secure other financing outlined in the Production Support Application or for other necessary reasons.
The LOC will include the project’s total budget as stated by the support applicant and other prerequisites for the completion of the project.
The LOC’s period of validity will be determined on a case-by-case bases.
If a Film Commissioner decides to propose a Letter of Commitment, the provision proposal will require the approval of the Finnish Film Foundation’s Board which will process the proposal in one of their four yearly support decision meetings.
Once the Foundation’s Board has granted the provision, the Film Commissioner and the Foundation’s CEO will sign the LOC.
The Film Commissioner must be kept up to date on the progress of the project during the validity period of the LOC.
1. Support Decision procedure if the conditions of the LOC are fulfilled
The Production Support Decision will be made if the total financing and other conditions are met as outlined in the Letter of Commitment.
A production company with a LOC must upload the financing commitments and other required appendices to their Support Application’s Annexes no later than the day after the LOC expires.
The Film Commissioner responsible for the LOC should be notified by email of the updates made to the Support Application.
Once the conditions of the LOC have been met and the application appendices have been approved by the Foundation the Film Commissioner will present his support decision recommendation for the Foundation’s Board at one of their four yearly production support decision meetings.
2. Extending the Letter of Commitment if the conditions remain the same
The Film Foundation can extend the period of validity for the Letter of Commitment for special reasons based on a written request by the applicant, the recommendation of the Film Commissioner and the approval of the Chair of the Foundation’s Board.
The written request for the extension should be delivered to the Film Commissioner responsible for the LOC no later than 30 days prior to the LOC’s expiration date.
3. Support Decision procedure if the LOC conditions are not fulfilled
If the conditions outlined in the LOC are not met, the provision will lapse, and the Support Application will proceed through the normal decision process.