The Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports has announced an extraordinary grant of €2 million for the Greek Film Centre. According to the official press release, the ministry recognises the importance of national cinema as an integral part of modern Greek civilisation, and for that reason, it said it needs protection and immediate support.

The grant comes as a counterbalance to the losses that the GFC had experienced due to the abolition of the special tax on cinema tickets. It should be noted that the Ministry of Culture had also granted €3 million in 2016 for the same reason and intends to continue to support the centre financially. As previously mentioned, the GFC’s funding programmes for new film projects exceed the total amount of government grants received, totalling close to €3.5 million for 2016 (see the news).

Furthermore, in its release, the ministry mentions the appointment of three new directors (see the news) and, more importantly, the establishment of the Hellenic Film Commission. The commission is now responsible for international co-productions and will enjoy a direct partnership with all of the relevant ministries and the regional and municipal communities in order to facilitate new productions and attract them to Greece. Also, a new director of the financial division will be announced soon.

Finally, the significance of Greece being one of the ten European countries that signed the revised Convention on Cinematographic Co-production (see the news) has also been highlighted. This will allow Greek producers to expand their collaborations to every country that participates or will participate in the new convention – even those with which Greece hasn’t previously had an international agreement on cinematic co-productions.