Ukraine’s parliament has adopted a new version of the law on state support of cinema that will radically change the relationships between the state and film and TV producers.
According to the new law, it is assumed that the producer of a feature film can apply for 80% state funding of its production budget, as opposed to the previous 50%.
However, the revolutionary aspect of the adopted law is that producers of TV series can also qualify for state funding. Indeed, a TV series producer is entitled to up to 50% coverage of their production expenditure as a grant from the state.
Commenting on the development, Victoria Yarmoshchuk, executive director of the Ukrainian Motion Picture Association, said: “For the Ukrainian film industry, the new law on cinema, which, among other things, introduces the system of cash rebate (25%) for foreign producers of film and television, is a huge step forward, because now Ukraine has become competitive on the global co-production market. Now we can offer producers from around the world not only our unique filming locations and professional services, but also an adequate system of returning production costs. We expect a rapid growth in film production in Ukraine in the coming years and are ready to consult foreign producers on how to make a film in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Motion Picture Association has a database of key production and service companies, we have established contacts in administrative organizations, and we are also creating a database of Ukrainian filming locations.”
