Preparing an application:
- Study the grant announcement and the support guide carefully.
- Log in to our application system with your Suomi.fi e-Identification.
- Fill in an application in the application system. The application consists of
1) an application form
2) the application’s appendices
3) the applicant’s appendices - Submit the application before the deadline.
Whenever you are in contact with us regarding your application, mention the application number and the name of your project in your message!
1. General
Finnish Film Foundation grants support for professional exhibition of films. This support guide supplements the grant announcements published by the Finnish Film Foundation. Exhibition support includes:
- Regional operational support for cinemas
- Support for cinema equipment and modernization
- Training support
- Operational support for film festivals (this support has its own support guide)
To whom?
Support may be granted to a corporation registered in Finland, a registered association or a municipality or a municipal consortium running a cinema while taking into consideration the prerequisites for professional and regular screenings.
Support may also be granted for valid reasons to an individual proprietor registered in Finland in charge of running a cinema.
Training support may be granted to nationally significant festivals.
Each grant announcement specifies the requirements the applicant must meet.
The definition of a cinema
In this guide, cinema refers to a professionally and regularly run establishment with one or more auditoriums and which gains most of its revenue from ticket sales to the public. The cinema’s programme, technology and viewing facilities are in good condition and screenings are accessible to all members of the public.
Support applications are handled by:
Ilmari Arnkil
Exhibition and Distribution Specialist
• support for cinemas, distribution and festivals in Finland
+358 9 6220 3035
A good application and smooth communication
Finnish Film Foundation makes roughly 250–350 distribution and exhibition support decisions each year. It is essential for the evaluation and comparison of the applications that the application is clear and carefully prepared.
Be clear and relate the essentials in your application. Consider how the support corresponds with its goals.
When uploading appendices, make sure that
- the name of the appendix corresponds to its content.
- all the obligatory appendices have been submitted.
- the figures are congruent in all documentation.
- reply to the handler’s or the system’s requests for additional information in the required time frame.
- when you contact the Foundation, you include the name and the application number of the project in your message.
- all of your applicant’s appendices are uploaded and up to date in the application system.
Updating appendices and information in the application system
Please note that the Foundation’s application system does not automatically inform the Foundation’s staff if you upload new appendices or update your information. Send an email about the changes to the film commissioner or other person handling the application.
Whenever you email the Foundation about your application, please state your application number and the name of the cinema.
In addition to the obligatory appendices, you may add complementary appendices to your application .
If the drop menu in the Application’s appendices does not have a suitable appendix type, choose Other appendices (“Muut liitteet”).
Filling out the application form
The application form is the electronic form in the application system. Fill out all the required fields. Next to the field, there are further instructions on how to fill out the field in relation to the support form.
- Further information (“Lisätiedot”): Write a description of the project here with one or two sentences. You can write here other necessary information for which there is no other place in the application or appendices.
- The costs indicated in the application (“Hakemuksessa esitetyt kustannukset”): Write here the total sum of the costs for which you are applying support.
- Other secured funding (“Muu varmistunut rahoitus”): This includes loans, support from other sources and all other funding that is not the applicant’s own financing or support applied from the Finnish Film Foundation.
- Own financing (“Oma rahoitus”): the amount that remains to be paid by the applicant.
The applicant’s appendices
The applicant’s appendices for corporations and organizations are the same in each support form. Municipalities or joint municipal authorities do not have to provide applicant’s appendices.
The applicant’s appendices must be uploaded in the application system by the last day of the application round. The appendices are uploaded in “Hakijan liitteet”.
A financial statement
A valid extract from the Trade Register
A certificate of paid taxes
A certificate of paid pension insurance premiums
A current list of shareholders (Limited Liability Companies Act, chapter 3)
Openness of documents
According to the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999), a document submitted to the Finnish Film Foundation is public. Documents may also be designated confidential under the law or access to them may be discretionary. Confidential official documents include documents that contain information about private business or trade secrets.
How are the decisions made?
The Board of the Finnish Film Foundation decides on import support based on the presentation of the CEO. The application will be handled by the schedule indicated in the grant announcement.
All applicants receive a written decision that contains the conditions of the support and a claim for corrections with instructions. You will get an email when the decision is made to the email address given in the Applicant’s information.
The decision is based on the act of government funding for the advancement of cinema (1174/2018), the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers (688/2001) and the Administrative Procedure Act (434/2003).
2. Decision and support payment
After the decision made by the Finnish Film Foundation’s Board has been processed, you will receive a message to the email address you have given in the Applicant’s information.
The decision can be read in the application’s Decision (“Päätös”) window.
More information on the support payment can be found on the grant announcement.
3. Oversight
Finnish Film Foundation oversees and supervises how the support is used. The Foundation has the right to use audits to oversee payments and how the support is used. The Foundation may also postpone payments during audits.
Organising project oversight
The recipient must maintain their accounts according to the Accounting Act and the Accounting Ordinance and follow sound accounting procedures. The recipient must organise the project’s audit trail – the link between the recipient’s financial statement and the project’s statement of charges – in a way that it can be reliably, completely and transparently verified by a third party.
The Foundation always reserves the right to fully audit the recipient’s accounting and management.
The recipient is obligated to provide their accountant and auditor the film’s support agreement and all appendices. If the recipient neglects these duties, the Foundation has the right to deliver the documents to the accountant and auditor named in the support agreement.
The recipient must observe and notify their accountant and their auditor of the Foundation’s instructions and guidelines (2021, pdf in Finnish) concerning the film industry’s accounting, financial statement and auditing principles.
Schedules for final reports
Some of the exhibition support has to be reported to the Finnish Film Foundation. The final report must be submitted according to the reporting schedule in each support form. The final report can be sent as soon as the project is finished, all the expenses are paid and the costs have been entered into the accounting. The schedule for final reports are:
- Training support, 6 months
- Support for cinema equipment and modernization, 9 months
- Support for cinema equipment for cinemas in small and medium-sized localities, 6 months
- Film festival support, 12 months
- Operational support for cinemas, no final report
Instructions for the final report of the training support can be found on the call for applications (in Finnish and Swedish). Instructions for the film festival support can be found on its own support guide. Instructions for the support for cinema equipment and modernization can be found below.
4. Final report for cinema equipment and modernization support
The final report for cinema equipment and modernization support must be provided to the Foundation within nine (9) months of receiving the support decision. The costs approved in the final report are the applicant’s accounted and paid project costs in accordance with the project budget without VAT.
Final report appendices are uploaded in the Reporting and final report folder (“Raportointi ja loppuselvitys”) in the application system.
Information of the appended final report submitted to the application system (in the “Raportointi ja loppuselvitys” folder) is emailed to Ilmari Arnkil, ilmari.arnkil@ses.fi. Mention in the message the name of the application and the application number.
The final report must include:
- Final report form drafted according to the Foundation’s template, Forms (in Finnish)
- A report on how the project was executed in relation to the plan
- An extract from the accounts, including the cost centre of the project
Until 31.12.2023 if the Foundation’s support granted to the project is
- less than €20,000, the project audit report must be verified and signed by an accountant.
- at least €20,000, the project audit report must be verified and signed by an authorised accountant. The authorised accountant must also give a written statement on the costs of the project and the use of support funds. Instructions for making a statement can be found in the Finnish Film Foundation’s guidelines (in Finnish).
- with exception, a final report for a support exceeding €20,000 can be relieved of audit duty. Exceptions may include projects with only a few receipts. The applicant must apply for an exception from the person handling the support. Should the project be relieved of audit duty, the project audit report must be verified and signed by an accountant. The applicant must also include the receipts as appendices of the final report.
From 1.1.2024 onwards, if the support granted by the Foundation for the application is:
- Less than €30.000: a general ledger for the cost pool certified and signed by an accountant must be included as an appendix
- €30.000 or more: a final audit report signed by a certified accountant must be included as an appendix. The authorised accountant must also give a written statement on the costs of the project and the use of support funds. Instructions for making a statement can be found in the Finnish Film Foundation’s guidelines (in Finnish).
- with exception, a final report for a support exceeding €30,000 can be relieved of audit duty. Exceptions may include projects with only a few receipts. The applicant must apply for an exception from the person handling the support. Should the project be relieved of audit duty, the project audit report must be verified and signed by an accountant. The applicant must also include the receipts as appendices of the final report.
Approving the final report
Information of the appended final report submitted to the application system (in the Reporting and final report folder) is emailed to Ilmari Arnkil, ilmari.arnkil@ses.fi.
In the application’s Payment information (“Maksutiedot”) window you can see when each instalment has been paid.
The Foundation may request further information if it deems it necessary for the approval of the final report. The Finnish Film Foundation has the right to perform audits on the recipient’s finances and activities based on the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers, section 16. The recipient must ascertain that the Foundation has the necessary prerequisites to perform the audit.
The Foundation approves the project’s final costs and funding based on the final report. If the project’s support exceeds the actualised costs, the Foundation deducts the sum from the unpaid instalment. If the sum is larger than the unpaid instalment, the recipient must immediately return the exceeding portion of the support to the Foundation.
Repayment of discretionary government transfers
Act on Discretionary Government Transfers (688/2001) section 20
Recipients of discretionary Government transfer must repay without delay any transfer or part thereof they have received through error, in excess or manifestly without cause. Recipients must also repay a transfer or part thereof if it cannot be used as required in the transfer decision. If the repayable sum does not exceed 100 euros, it is not necessary to repay it.
In addition to the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers (688/2001), section 20, the recipient must abide by the following repayment conditions:
- The recipient is obliged to immediately repay the grant or part of the grant if the grant has not been used during the time period agreed upon by the parties and if the Foundation has not granted an extension.
- The repayable amount must include annual interest and an added three percent following the Interest Act (633/1982), section 3, subsection 2. The interest is calculated from the last payment to the support repayment date.
- The target of the support and application number must be mentioned in the message field during repayment.
The support must be repaid to the Finnish Film Foundation’s bank account:
Nordea Bank Abp
IBAN FI74 1572 3000 0305 77
BIC NDEAFIHH
5. Halting payment and repayment
If the recipient does not repay Finnish Film Foundation according to the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers, section 20, repayment of the support or a portion of it will proceed according to section 9 and section 10 of the act of government transfers to promote film culture.
Section 9 Halting payments
The Arts Promotion Center Finland is responsible for halting payments. Finnish Film Foundation must immediately propose to the Arts Promotion Center Finland that the government transfer be halted if the Foundation has discovered information that warrants the halting of the payments. The Arts Promotion Center decides on the halting of payments and the continuation or halting of government transfers based on the Foundation’s suggestion.
The decision of the halting of payments must be made immediately and, for special reasons, during at least two calendar years after the Finnish Film Foundation’s suggestion. Finnish Film Foundation must include sufficient and essential information to make a decision to halt payments. The Arts Promotion Center Finland also has the right to receive the necessary information from the Finnish Film Foundation to halt payments without regard to confidentiality agreements.
Section 10 Repayment
The Arts Promotion Center Finland is responsible for halting payments. Finnish Film Foundation must immediately inform the Arts Promotion Center Finland of facts that would or should warrant government transfer repayments. The Arts Promotion Center Finland makes the repayment decision.
The decision of repayments must be made immediately and, for special reasons, during at least two calendar years after the Finnish Film Foundation’s suggestion. Finnish Film Foundation must include sufficient and essential information to make a decision of repayments. The Arts Promotion Center Finland also has the right to receive the necessary information from the Finnish Film Foundation for repayments without regard to confidentiality agreements.
Finnish Film Foundation’s grants are based on the act on the government’s support for the promotion of film culture (1174/2018). The grants apply the Act on Discretionary Government Transfers (688/2001). The Foundation follows the Administrative Procedure Act, the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999), the Language Act (423/2004), the Sámi Language Act (1086/2003), the Archives Act (831/1994), the Act on Electronic Services and Communication in the Public Sector (13/2003) and the Privacy Protection Act (9/2018).
According to the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999), a document submitted to the Finnish Film Foundation is public. Documents may also be designated confidential under the law or access to them may be discretionary. Confidential official documents include documents that contain information about private business or trade secrets.