Baden-Württenberg broadens funding avenues for digitisation of theatres

by Julio Talavera Milla

14/03/2011 - The regional film fund of Germany’s south-west federal state of Baden-Württenberg (Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württenberg) will include the purchase of digital projectors below the DCI (Digital Cinema Initiatives) standard of 2k resolution in its funding competition for movie theatres, to kick-start digital projection.

Regional Media Minister Helmut Rau said it was “precisely cinemas with small theatres that could offer a good quality image with a definition of between 1.3k and 1.9k at an accessible price, and with this, guarantee a unique cinematic experience”.

The digitisation support programmes introduced by the Federal Government and the FFA will be compatible with said funding, for in this region the financing plan for said projectors will include funding of up to 30% of the cost (without exceeding €21,600) from the regional fund; an equal percentage from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media (Bundesbeauftragter für Kultur und Medien, BKM) of up to €21,000; and up to 15% from the FFA, with an upper limit of €10,000.

Nevertheless, the minimum investment from exhibitors will be 25% of the cost. The new regulations, already in force, will apply to the funding competition whose deadline is September 1, 2011.

Introduced in 2010, the measure has already been used to help 45 of the region’s exhibitors to digitise their theatres with a total contribution of €800,000.

(Translated from Spanish)