The Romanian National Film Center has announced the sole funding session to be held in 2017, with €10.75 million to be shared among fiction, documentary and animation features, short films, and projects in development.

For the first time in the history of the institution, a significant amount is to be shared by thematic productions: 10% of the total amount is destined for features and short films to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the so-called Great Union, which heralded the birth of modern Romania in 1918. The decision, which a source inside the institution described as “a hard compromise with the Ministry of Culture and National Identity”, caused outrage among Romanian film professionals, as “thematic” and nationalist funding brings back memories of Soviet times. 

The same source tells Cineuropa that without this compromise, the Center wouldn’t have received the permission to update its regulations for more transparent and newcomer-friendly funding. It didn’t take long for the local film community to point out the absurdity of this decision: it will be almost impossible to produce a large-scale feature about Romanian history and release it in time for the anniversary of the Union (December 2018). 

Of the €10.75 million, approximately €5.25 million are to be shared by fiction features, €1.61 million by fiction feature debuts, €1.075 million by documentaries and €1.075 million by animations, with €537,000 going to short films and €107,500 to screenplays in development.

This funding session was delayed by the rejection (see the news) of a much-needed update to the 2005 cinema law back in May.