If passed by the legislature, the amount available for the Foundation's activities will be reduced from 3.7 million EUR to 3.3 million EUR. That level is roughly comparable with 2006 and leaves the Foundation short of its goal to finance a minimum of 5 full-length features annually. The Ministry of Culture (www.kul.ee) which funds the Estonian Film Foundation (www.efsa.ee) has not yet set priorities for funding.

The move comes on the heels of Estonia's stringent budget cuts across the board for public spending in order to meet the criteria for joining the Euro in 2011.

The other major source of film funding, Estonian Cultural Endowment (www.kulka.ee) draws its revenues directly from taxes, and its budget is less dependent on administrative decision but is also expected to fall in 2010.