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
The aim of the support
The aim of the Finnish Film Foundation is to promote the diverse and professional production of films in Finland. The Foundation’s values include participation, pluralism, cultural diversity and artistic freedom.
The aim of the support is to promote Finnish film culture and its development.
To whom?
Support may be granted to a corporation or association registered in Finland for projects promoting Finnish film culture.
For what purpose and how much?
The support is intended for Finnish projects that diversify and strengthen Finnish film culture and film industry. This form of support cannot be used to replace or supplement other support granted by the Foundation for the same purpose. For necessary and justifiable causes, the support may be granted in full (100%). Self-financing and other financing are considered an advantage.
The maximum amount of support for an individual project is €20,000.
Previous support decisions can be viewed on the Foundation’s support decisions page.
How and when to apply?
The support is applied for by submitting an application in the application system before the deadline given in the grant announcement.
The application consist of:
1) an application form
2) the application’s appendices
3) the applicant’s appendices
Prior to submitting an application, you must carefully read the relevant grant announcement and support guide. You should begin preparing the application well ahead of the deadline.
The applicant is responsible for submitting the application within the deadline. Applications submitted after the deadline are transferred to the next application period.
The application deadline is at 16:00 on the last day of the application period.
The support applications are handled by:
Matti Paunio
Head of Production
• management of the production department
• coordinating the Foundation’s international training and co-production projects
• the Finnish representative in the Eurimages Fund
• support for the promotion of other film culture
+358 9 6220 3038
A good application and smooth communication
It is essential for the evaluation and comparison of the applications that the application is clear and carefully prepared.
In a good application, the overall strategy of the project clearly states the project’s aims, execution, schedule and the persons responsible for the execution of the project. The project’s cost estimate and financial plan support the project’s strategy and goals.
Updating appendices and information in the application system
Please note that the Foundation’s application system does not automatically inform the Foundation’s staff staff if you upload new appendices or update your information. Send an email about the changes to the person handling the application.
Whenever you email the Foundation about your application, please state your application number and the name of the project.
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”).
What requirements must the applicant meet?
A positive support decision requires that the applicant has complied with possible previous support agreements, conditions and delivered all overdue final reports on previous support.
The Foundation may request further information if it deems it necessary for the decision-making process. Support cannot be granted if the application is insufficient and the required information is not uploaded into the application system despite requests to do so.
How are the applications evaluated?
The support for the promotion of other film culture is discretionary. Granting the support is based on overall evaluation and comparison of the applications. The following guidelines are used to evaluate the applications:
Evaluation takes into account the project’s production and economic feasibility as well as its significance to the development of Finnish film culture and film industry. In addition, the applicant’s professional and financial means to complete the project and the available funds are evaluated.
Other funding and self-financing of the project are viewed as an advantage. Other support previously granted to the applicant by the Foundation is also taken into account.
How are the decisions made?
The Board of the Finnish Film Foundation decides on project support based on the presentation of the CEO. The application will be processed in the first board meeting after the application has been submitted. The processing time is approximately 3–10 weeks after the application and all the required appendices have been submitted.
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. Application
The application consists of an application form filled out in the application system and obligatory application and applicant’s appendices uploaded to the system.
Obligatory application appendices
The applicant must submit the following appendices to the application system before the application period ends:
A project plan
A budget and financing plan
Agreements or binding contracts of other funding in accordance with the financing plan
The applicant’s appendices
Upload the appendices pertaining to the company or organization to the the Applicant’s appendices.
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.
3. Support payment
Support for other promotion of film culture is paid to the recipient’s Finnish bank account in two instalments: the first instalment (80%) after the support decision has been made and the second instalment (20%) after the final report for the support has been approved by the Foundation.
The Foundation’s logo
Support recipients must include information about the project support in their publications by using the Foundation logo or in writing: “We have received support for this project from the Finnish Film Foundation.”
Support recipients must use the Foundation’s logo in their materials in conjunction with other financiers’ and collaborators’ logos. The logo is available in Finnish, English, Swedish and Northern Sámi.
4. 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.
Disclosure requirement
The recipient must provide the Finnish Film Foundation the correct and sufficient information to enable the oversight of the support decision’s conditions.
The recipient must inform the Foundation of all changes that influence the way the support is used without delay. Changes that influence the use of the support include changes in the project’s quality, breadth and funding. The Foundation also always has the right to receive information about the project’s current status and follow the project’s progress.
The Foundation may, upon receiving a written application from the applicant, change the support schedule and its terms for special reasons. The relevant application must be completed before the final report deadline stated in the payment schedule. A written report of the changes must be emailed to Accounting Specialist Pirjo Harmainen, pirjo.harmainen@ses.fi.
5. Final report
The support must be used and a report submitted no more than a year after the support decision was made.
Final report appendices are uploaded in the Reporting and final report folder (“Raportointi ja loppuselvitys”) in the application system.
A written report
An itemised report on costs and funding
A project audit report
Approving the final report
Upload the final report to the application system in the Reporting and final report (“Raportointi ja loppuselvitys”) folder.
Information on the submission of the final report to the online application system is emailed to Accounting Specialist Pirjo Harmainen, pirjo.harmainen@ses.fi.
An automatic message indicating that the final report is missing is only removed when the final report has been approved at the Foundation and the final instalment of the support has been paid.
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. Finnish Film Foundation has the right to perform audits on the recipient’s finances and 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.
The support can only be used for the purpose detailed in the support decision. A general grant together with other public funding may not exceed admissible costs.
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
6. 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.