The ICAA unlocks cinema aid

The new Ministerial Order on aid for film production introduces improvements and innovations in most aid, with the intention of creating a more harmonized aid system adapted to the needs that arise in the various areas of creation, production, distribution and promotion of the film and audiovisual sector.

This Friday the Official State Gazette publishes the Ministerial Order published by the Ministry of Culture and Sports the regulatory bases for the aid provided for in the Cinema Law, which replaces the current 2015 Order.

This new regulation has been agreed upon with the agents in the sector and includes the vast majority of their demands.

This new standard introduces improvements and innovations in most aid, with the intention of creating a more harmonized aid system adapted to the needs that arise in the various areas of creation, production, distribution and promotion of the film and audiovisual sector.

Main news

The production aid lines regulated by this Ministerial Order, and which will be announced soon in accordance with this new standard, are:

General aid for the production of project-based feature films

These aid are intended for productions that have a more commercial and industrial nature, with higher budgets (over 1.3 million euros).

Among the most notable new features it presents are:

– The production of documentary feature films and international co-productions with Ibero-American countries is encouraged, lowering in these two cases the minimum film cost required to access aid. Thus, it goes from €400,000 to €300,000 in the case of documentaries and from €700,000 to €300,000 in the case of co-productions with Latin America.
– Certain requirements regarding the guaranteed financing that the project must have to obtain aid are relaxed.
– The requirement for the release of the feature film in theaters is made more flexible, allowing that it does not necessarily have to be simultaneous. The number of theaters required is also reduced in the case of feature films with an original version in co-official languages ​​other than Spanish (from 20 it is reduced to 12 and only 6 will be required to be shown in the original version), or feature films of a documentary nature (now there must be a minimum of 5 theaters), to facilitate their access to these grants.
– The figure of the producer-manager is clarified and systematized, as well as the assessment of the solvency of the company requesting aid, whether it is a producing company, a producer-manager or an economic interest group.
– The minimum score required to access aid is increased (from 35 to 50), but the amount of aid to be received is increased depending on what is requested, allowing at least 75% of the aid requested to be accessed.
– The presence of women in film production is encouraged, by increasing the number of points for female participation in it (from 4 to 7).
– The score given to animation projects is increased in a clear commitment to this sector (from 1 to 3).

Selective aid for the production of project-based feature films

These grants are intended for projects with a special cultural or social cinematographic value, documentary projects (which have a specific reserve of the line's total allocation of between 15 and 25%), experimental projects and projects that incorporate new filmmakers. The maximum budget for these projects must be 1.8 million euros.

The main new features introduced in relation to this line are:
– The endowment that must be reserved for it is increased, which amounts to 10% of the endowment allocated in each year to the “Cinematography Protection Fund”.
– A specific line is created for experimental projects, with its own regulation, providing for the possibility of reserving up to 10% of the allocation allocated each year to selective aid.
– Access to aid for animation projects is facilitated, increasing their maximum budget (up to €2.5 million).
– Access to aid for international co-productions with majority Spanish participation and a Spanish director of recognized prestige is also facilitated, for which the limit of having a maximum budget is eliminated.
– As with general aid, the score given to projects due to female participation is increased and the score given to animation projects is increased.

Aid for the production of short films on projects and Aid for the production of short films made

The regulation of this aid does not experience any notable changes. The amount of this aid cannot exceed 75% of the cost recognized by the ICAA for the project or the short film, respectively. Furthermore, these grants are compatible with each other, but the sum of both cannot exceed the maximum limit of €70,000 per short film.
It is worth noting that this aid also encourages the presence of women in production, with a higher score for having a woman in charge of direction or script, and team leaders. Scoring is also introduced for the short film's presence in a wide list of festivals.

Aid for the amortization of feature films

Designated to amortize the production costs of feature films produced and released two years previously. In 2018 they will be called for the last time, thus ending the 3-year transitional period planned for the definitive implementation of the new aid model established in RD Law 6/2015. In these aids, no new features have been introduced in the new Order.

Distribution aid

From now on, measures adopted against piracy will be included as eligible expenses, such as: prevention and protection systems against illegal or unauthorized access and downloads, monitoring and surveillance on social networks...

Access to the BOE.