Film in Austria has welcomed the Austrian government’s decision to introduce a 35% incentive for film and TV production. The measure will come into force on 1 January 2023 and will take the form of an automatic, non-repayable subsidy. The contributions will be up to €5 million for film projects and €7.5 million for series projects. Applications must be submitted by a production service outfit based in the country.

In detail, the incentive consists of a 30% cash rebate for each project, and an additional 5% eco-friendly bonus, based on the implementation of certain environmental sustainability criteria. Notably, there is no cap on the fund supplying the subsidy, which implies that it will never run out of money and is potentially open to an unlimited number of producers and projects. This “green” bonus is the first of its kind coming into force in Europe.

Commenting on the provision, the Film in Austria team said: “The previous lack of an effective instrument to increase value creation in Austria, to attract foreign production and to create qualified jobs has so far caused film productions to migrate to neighbouring countries, and has thus led to the loss of value creation, know-how and skilled workers at home.”

Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, Film and Music Austria’s chairman, added: “The fact that the funding system itself is not capped is a real sensation. This means that in the future, there will no longer be a race to submit funding applications. Instead, you release the brakes on creative potential.”