02-11-2009

Romanian film funding to decrease

By Iulia Blaga

    The Romanian Cinema Fund might be reduced by 40% in 2010 due to a new law exempting casinos and gambling from contributing, along with a decrease in monies from TV advertisements.

    The warning comes from the manager of National Centre for Cinema (www.cncinema.abt.ro), Eugen Şerbănescu, and was expressed on the occasion of the the French-Romanian Cinema and Audiovisual Days, an event organised by the French Embassy.

    Film production is also being delayed in Romania, since there has been no session for production grants this year, although the law requires two sessions per year. The last session took place in December 2008, and was followed by proposals from the professional associations to adjust the regulations in the procedure.

    Initially, casinos had to contribute 4% of revenues to the Cinema Fund (the film production source of money), which made up 20% of the fund. It is estimated that money from TV advertisement, the biggest source for the Cinema Fund, will decrease with 10-20%.

    In 2008, the Cinema Fund was 12 million Euro (44 million RON), 1.1 million Euro more than in 2007.