06-02-2015

Estonia On Track for Cash Rebate

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    Estonia looks set to launch its own cash rebate system for incoming productions after the general elections on March 1st. Pending governmental approval the new financial vehicle may open for applications as early as 2016, while the detailed provisions are still being worked out by a task force led by the Estonian Film Institute.

    All four major political parties represented in parliament today have included some sort of financial film incentive scheme in their election programmes, making it likely the initiative will go through regardless of the eventual composition of the coalition government.

    Preliminary parameters for the fund are 2m EUR annually, with a targeted return rate of around 20-30% on local spending, to be released after the books for a shoot are closed.

    Estonia’s general cash rebate fund may well coincide temporally with the launch of Tartu Film Fund, a similar cash rebate system to be financed by the City of Tartu. Estonia already has a regional film fund in the Eastern region of Ida-Viru.

    More inquiries about the new scheme will be available at the Berlin Film Market Estonia booth on the Martin Gropius Bau balcony throughout the entire market.

    Sources: www.reform.ee, www.irl.ee, www.sotsid.ee, www.keskerakond.ee, Estonian Film Insitute