The chairman of the Finnish Film Foundation explains how Finland supports domestic film compared to neighboring states.
The Maija, directed by Tiina Lymi, was the most watched Finnish film in 2024. Pink bröijer
EUR 7.8 million cuts in the budget rush have attracted strong criticism on the Finnish film field.
For example, last week, SELO, the Finnish Film Directors’ Association, published a statement in which it appeals to the government’s planned cuts. The statement has been signed by several well -known Finnish film directors.
Finns go to see A lot of domestic filmsaccording to the statistics of the Finnish Film Foundation. In 2024, the number of viewers of domestic films was 31.6 percent of the total number of viewers, which was nearly a third of the audience to watch a Finnish film.
Big cuts are planned in the Finnish film industry. Outi Järvinen
While Finland is planned in Finland, there is another situation in Finland’s neighboring countries.
In Estonia, Finnish film is supported by EUR 7.4 million. It is relatively much because Estonia is an area smaller than Finland, which is also reflected in the state budget.
The Estonian Ministry of Culture There is no intention of cutting current subsidies. According to the ministry, resources have been added to support the film last year.
In Finland, Business Finland’s AV production incentive is EUR 10 million, while in Estonia it is six million. So it is relatively more than in Finland because the economy is different.
– Compared to the state budget, they really support the film and AV industry, says Lasse Saarinen, Director of the Finnish Film Foundation.
In addition to Estonia, the situation is also different between Finland and other Nordic countries.
For example, in Norway, the support of movies is added in the next few years. According to Saarinen, about a third more in Norway supports the film than in Finland, as well as in Denmark.
Sweden, on the other hand, has been conducted in Sweden what the importance of the Institute’s subsidies is and the result of the research result that the state funding of the Swedish Film Institute must be increased.
According to Saarinen, there are currently 21 million support funds in Finland. About 14 million in production support. According to Saarinen, the concrete planned cuts would mean that the current support resources would be halved.
– In Finnish, it would halve the number of movies we can support, says Saarinen.
Saarinen sees the cuts in the budget debate unprecedented.
-At European level, it is a unique decision to cut from the AV industry. Elsewhere, it is understood that the AV industry produces so much benefits to the state that it is an investment.