COVID-19 and its consequences for the Dutch film and AV sector

The COVID-19 outbreak is a global crisis in which, above all, caring for the public health is of paramount importance. We want to express our support to the sick and surviving relatives and want to show our solidarity with the health and safety personnel who focus on managing the crisis.

Consequences for the Dutch film and AV sector

It is clear that the corona crisis has consequences for the global film and AV sector. In the Netherlands, in the short term, this concerns complications with regard to postponing and cancelling film productions (in pre-production and production) and the canceling of fund-supported film festivals. As a public financier, we are convinced that the sooner we arrive at an adequate response, the less impact the effects will ultimately have.

The Fund is acting in line with the principles maintained by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) and will take concrete action in the short term aimed at specific projects and activities.

Film productions

As a public financier, we will try to limit project-related damage in subsidized film productions as much as possible by:

• leniency in the fulfillment of conditions and obligations, so that projects are given room to respond to changes in production, delivery and release. We are also looking at flexibility in subsidy periods and advance payments.
• based on an inventory of bottlenecks for specific projects, we will take additional measures where possible. This could include (bridge) financing for demonstrable extra costs as a result of postponement of (pre) production and recordings, including the affected crew and cast, and redistribution and marketing for films whose release has been postponed.
• we ask producers of current productions to contact Mr. Maarten Wijdenes directly at the Fund about the bottlenecks you encounter. In this way we are able to make a proper inventory and respond quickly. Please contact him at: [email protected]

Film festivals

In case film festivals are cancelled, the Fund will not adhere to the performance obligations normally connected to the grant conditions. We will also look where extra support is needed for festival organizations, whose survival is at stake due to loss of income.

The Film fund's operations in response to announced government measures

The Fund’s processing of applications will continue as normal. In order to limit personal contact, we decided to move appointments and meetings where possible or organize them through a Skype or FaceTime connection. The Fund remains open and all departments can be reached by telephone or email. Look for the contact person on the page of the relevant scheme.