Planned cuts on Finnish film industry cancelled

The Finnish government has cancelled the previously planned up to €7.8 million cut in public investment in film production.

The cuts would have primarily affected the Finnish Film Foundation’s (FFF) funding, lowering the organisation’s current budget with up to 35%.

The cancellation was announced by Minister of Science and Culture Mari-Leena Talvitie during a plenary session of parliament on Thursday. She confirmed that the government’s planned cuts in business support will not affect the cultural sector after all.

In a statement to the Nordisk Film and TV Fond, managing director of the Finnish Film Foundation Lasse Saarinen said: “This shows that democracy is working, when the government is able to reverse a decision that it seemingly made on the basis of an incomplete impact assessment. Over the past five weeks, the entire film and audiovisual industry has successfully communicated the catastrophic effects of the cuts. Simultaneously, the entire domestic media has supported us, and we have been able to get our message across excellently and bring it to the attention of both politicians and the general public.

"Even the level at which we have been able to participate in Nordic cooperation was at risk. Fortunately, this threat has now been removed,” Saarinen told the Nordisk Film and TV Fond.

The cuts would have affected the domestic production of 8–10 features a year, which would have likely resulted in the loss of hundreds of jobs and shut down small-town cinemas.

Nordisk Film & TV Fond’s CEO, Liselott Forsman added: “Since the discussion of the cuts started, the support for the Finnish film industry has been very visible at international meetings. The relief that the Finnish industry can remain a vital part of our Nordic industry is now shared across borders.

"Nordic films are strong internationally, on a Cannes and Academy Awards level, but also at home. Domestic ticket shares are high in our region, and especially high in Finland, where 32% of the tickets sold last year were for Finnish films. When Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves won the Jury Prize in Cannes, it was also the 4th most watched film in Finland, falling short only to Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Super Mario.”