30/04/2020 - With the specific calls, financed by the Ministry of Culture, the GFC hopes to encourage applications from filmmakers in the fields of documentary, short films and animation during the pandemic

As is the case in the rest of Europe, the Greek film industry is also suffering the consequences of the restrictive measures being imposed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the beginning of April, a series of measures have been introduced by the Greek Ministry of Culture, including an emergency fund of €15 million that is intended to support modern culture, including the audiovisual sector.

The Greek Film Centre (GFC), under its new head, Pandelis Mitropoulos, who was appointed last month, is handling the Special Programme of Support for the Film Community, totalling €1.8 million, and since last week has been accepting applications for specific calls for the development of audiovisual content. More precisely, documentary and short-film projects will benefit from this special aid. For documentaries and short films in an early stage of development, the filmmakers are eligible to apply with their screenplays or their treatments, of which a total of 100 will be selected – 50 in each category – and each of them will receive €2,500 intended for their script development. For the projects that are applying for production backing, 50 will be supported, with the 25 short films receiving €20,000 each and the 25 documentaries being supported with €30,000 apiece. The evaluation and selection process will be conducted by special committees.

Another area that will benefit from special support is the development of animated films. This is the first time that the Ministry of Culture has provided such backing, which is also handled by the Greek Film Centre. According to this specific call for proposals for the Greek animation industry, in order to nurture the creators as well as boost the outreach and the promotion of their work in the international market, a total of 25 projects will be financed with an amount that can vary between €10,000 and €20,000, depending on their duration and other technical factors. It should be noted that this programme acts as a parallel kind of support in order to further contribute to the production of the films. Applications for all the schemes will remain open until mid-June, after which the recipients will be announced.

In parallel, emergency financial aid for independent cinema owners to remedy the imbalance caused by the interruption of their economic activity has also been confirmed. This aid will be reserved for two-screen cinemas that programmed at least two Greek or European films during the 2019-2020 season. Also, short films will be promoted through independent cinemas that have up to three screens and are planning to screen a Greek short before the launch of a feature film during the 2020-21 season. The GFC will form a catalogue from which the cinemas may select the movies, and for each of their screening rooms, they will receive special support of €1,500.