In early December the Romanian government approved an amendment to a new law which will change the way the country’s film industry operates.
Cristian Mungiu’s “Baccalauréat”
Every section of the law proposed by Corina Suteu, Romania’s Minister of Culture, has been ratified except the one on allocating new resources for the Film Finance Fund.
One of the main changes in the amendment will affect financial support for international co-productions provided by the Centrul National al Cinematografiei (National Centre for Cinematography, CNC). An international co-production will now be eligible for a grant of up to 60% of its total budget. Where minority co-productions are concerned, the CNC may subsidize the Romanian part of the production.
There will also be a new grant for young directors preparing their first or second feature film, with the CNC covering up to 85% of the film’s total budget. Finally, in addition to the traditional calls for projects (drama, documentaries, animated films), the CNC will now begin a new fund for micro-budget films, with grants of up to 80% of the budget .
Some of the measures in the amendment concern the distribution of cinema films: every year cinemas must now show at least 10% of domestically produced films and television channels will have to increase the percentage of Romanian films they broadcast by 2% to 5%, with half of them being shown during prime time. Finally, the Act encourages local authorities to reopen and modernize cinemas, since closures have risen dramatically since the 1990s.
Sources: Cineuropa, Film New Europe
