Published on June 6, 2024
The Office for Film and Cultural Investments has published the summary of the activity of analysis and settlement of the projects submitted under the state aid programe supporting the production of audiovisual works on the territory of Romania in the project call sessions organized in 2018, 2019 and 2020
On October 2, 2023, the Office took over from the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism the documents related to the 138 projects submitted with the state aid program regulated by Government Decision no. 421/2018 for the establishment of a state aid scheme to support the cinematographic industry in the 2018, 2019 and 2020 sessions („The Projects”).
The Order of the Minister of Culture no. 3674 regarding the approval of the composition of the Film Commission in Romania responsible for analyzing and resolving the projects submitted in the 2018, 2019 and 2020 project call sessions was approved on December 12, 2023 („Order no. 3674/2023”).
Government Decision no. 1250/2023 for the approval of the procedure for managing and verifying the projects taken over, concluding financing agreements and making payments related to the state aid scheme regarding the support of the cinematographic industry by the Office of Film and Cultural Investments and for the modification and completion of the Government Decision no. 421/2018 for the establishment of a state aid scheme to support the cinematographic industry was issued On December 15, 2023, („Resolution Procedure”).
On December 19, 2023, two state aid payments were made by the Film and Cultural Investments Office, amounts established by two final court sentences:
(i) for the „Parquet” project – beneficiary Alien Films Entertainment SRL, the amount of 2,390,989 lei was settled, representing 35% of the eligible expenses incurred in 2019 in connection with the implementation of the project in Romania, based on a final court sentence in May 2023.
(ii) for the „World to Come” project – beneficiary Arsia Production SRL, the amount of 3,005,344.08 lei was settled, based on a court sentence that remained final in September 2023.
Delay penalties were quantified at 321,448.31 lei and settled on April 2, 2024.
The Order of the Minister of Culture no. 3.655/2023 regarding the approval of the Regulation on the organization and operation of the Film Commission in Romania, responsible for applying the procedure approved by Government Decision no. 1.250/2023 for the approval of the procedure for managing and verifying the projects taken over, concluding financing agreements and making payments related to the state aid scheme regarding the support of the cinematographic industry by the Film and Cultural Investments Office and for the modification and completion of the Government Decision no. 421/2018 for the establishment of a state aid scheme to support the cinematographic industry was issued on December 15, 2023, („Order no. 3655/2023”).
Based on the Resolution Procedure and after the appointment of the Film Commission in Romania, the Office was able to start analyzing the projects submitted in the 2018, 2019 and 2020 sessions, a process which started on January 8, 2024.
On January 30, 2024, the Office published the updated summary of the projects submitted in the 2018, 2019 and 2020 sessions and not analyzed, a periodically updated report on the institution’s website at https://ofic.ro/proiecte-2018-2020/ :
- Session 2018 – total budget 233,000,000 lei, carried out under the management of the CNSP, between October 12, 2018 and December 31, 2018 :
- 41 financing applications submitted , requesting the granting of state aid in a total amount of 215,078,494.8 lei;
- 28 approved financing requests , for state aid in the total amount of 182,801,589.79 lei, of which:
- 147,253,159.64 lei committed through financing agreements signed in 2018, according to the 2018 budget;
- 35,548,430.15 lei committed through financing agreements signed in 2019, based on the 2019 budget.
- 1 file withdrawn after signing the financing agreement;
- 1 file revoked after signing the financing agreement;
- 13 rejected files;
- 7 payment requests submitted , for the settlement of state aid in the amount of 13,254,492.24 lei;
- 1 paid payment request:
- Payment request from 20.09.2019 – Parquet – 2,390,989.00 lei, paid by OFIC on 19 December 2023, based on the ICCJ sentence.
- Session 2019 – total budget 233,000,000 lei, held under the management of the National National Center for Social Sciences and Humanities, between January 3, 2019 and October 11, 2019
- 66 financing applications submitted, totaling 275,955,348.9 lei;
- 50 approved financing applications, in total amount of 233,249,705.73 lei, of which :
- 146,203,474.65 lei , committed through financing agreements signed in 2019, based on the 2019 budget;
- 79,732,551.08 lei , committed through financing agreements signed in 2020, based on the 2020 budget.
- 12 financing applications, submitted between October 8, 2019 and November 29, 2019 and unresolved by the Film Commission, in a total amount of 29,534,961.25 lei;
- 1 file withdrawn after signing the financing agreement;
- 5 financing requests rejected;
- 24 payment requests submitted, totaling 134,932,330.48 lei;
- 2 payment requests paid:
- payment request submitted on July 5, 2019 – project Alex Rider – 2,405,279.97 lei, paid by CNSP in September 2019;
- Payment request from April 23, 2020 – The world to come – 3,005,344.08 lei, paid by OFIC on December 19, 2023, based on the ICCJ Judgment;
- Session 2020 – total budget 155,953,768.74 lei, held under the management of MEEMA, starting from December 22, 2020:
- 31 financing requests submitted, totaling 251,365,671.6 lei;
- 12 financing applications approved by the Film Commission in 2020, totaling 124,967,783.97 lei, without financing agreements being signed;
- 18 financing requests submitted between December 22, 2020 and December 29, 2020 and unresolved by the Film Commission, in the total amount of 104,556,187.59 lei.
- 1 project rejected in the administrative stage.
The Film Commission in Romania appointed by OMC no. 3674/2023 held the first meeting on January 8, 2024 and, until the present date, 12 meetings were held during which the projects from the previous sessions were analyzed.
Between February 2 and 5, 2024, given the considerable delay in processing financing applications submitted in previous sessions, in order to streamline the process of analyzing and allocating state aid by signing financing agreements, the Office sent all applicants who submitted a financing request that has not been resolved, a request to specify whether the realization of the project in Romania is still possible or, to the extent that the eligibility conditions are no longer met, to notify the withdrawal of the financing request.
Starting from April 24, 2024, in order to be able to manage the documentation related to the Projects, the Office has made available to the applicants, the Technical Secretariat and the Film Commission a digital platform that ensures the transmission of the supporting documents related to the projects, as well as the collaborative analysis and resolution: https ://app.ofic.ro/
As of today, based on the situation of the projects taken over from the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism, following the administrative checks carried out by the Technical staff and the decisions adopted by the Film Commission in Romania, the following progress has been recorded:
- Financing applications approved at the date of taking over the state aid scheme, without financing agreements
At the date of taking over the Projects, there were a total of 12 financing applications approved by the Film Commission in Romania and for which no financing agreements were signed.
According to the provisions of art. 14 of the Resolution Procedure, they were taken over for administrative verification and resolution starting with the oldest decision.
Among the 12 financing applications approved in the 2020 session:
- 4 financing requests were withdrawn by the applicants;
- for 8 financing applications approved by the Film Commission in 2020, in the total amount of 81,070,339.7 lei, are in the stage of verifying the supplier, according to art. 10 para. (5) from HG no. 421/2018, and the Office will invite applicants to sign financing agreements between June 12 and 18, 2024 :
| Name of Applicant | Project title | Requested intensity | Amount granted | No. Decision approving the financing request | Date |
| Microfilm SRL | Cei trei??? | 45% | 4,768,380.00 | 002/COMMISSION | 28-Dec-20 |
| Frame Film SRL | Django | 35% | 25,743,659.00 | 008/COMMISSION | 29-Dec-20 |
| Icon Film SRL | Flowers in the Attic | 35% | 37,396,088.00 | 012/COMMISSION | 29-Dec-20 |
| Saga Film SRL | Ro-mania | 45% | 1,375,628.07 | 016/COMMISSION | 29-Dec-20 |
| Libra Film Productions SRL | Nasty | 45% | 832,770.00 | 018/COMMISSION | 29-Dec-20 |
| Idea Film Distribution SRL | Land of Milk and Honey | 35% | 8,909,743.00 | 022/COMMISSION | 29-Dec-20 |
| Midnight Sun Film SRL | Ultima pescuială | 45% | 940,638.15 | 024/COMMISSION | 30-Dec-20 |
| Long live Vidra Production SRL | Team building | 45% | 1,103,433.75 | 014/COMMISSION | 29-Dec-20 |
- Unresolved financing applications at the date of taking over the state aid scheme
At the time of taking over the Projects, there were a total of 30 outstanding financing requests.
According to the provisions of art. 14 of the Resolution Procedure, they were taken over for administrative verification and resolution starting with the oldest financing request.
Among the 12 financing applications submitted in the 2019 session and unresolved :
- 3 financing applications were rejected by the Film Commission, as a result of the finding that the applicant companies were liquidated;
- 4 financing applications were rejected by the Film Commission, as having been submitted after November 7, 2019, when the announcement regarding the exhaustion of the 2019 session budget was published;
- 4 financing requests were withdrawn by the applicants;
- 1 financing request for state aid in the amount of 929,537.28 lei was approved by the Film Commission on May 31, 2024 and is in the stage of verifying the supplier, according to art. 10 para. (5) from HG no. 421/2018, in order to sign the financing agreement:
| Name of Applicant | Project title | Requested intensity | The amount granted – lei | No. Decision approving the financing request | Decision given |
| Strada Film International SRL | Basta Ceausescu | 45% | 866.763 | 15 | May 31, 2024 |
Among the 18 financing applications submitted in the 2020 session and unresolved :
- 5 financing requests were withdrawn by the applicants;
- 1 application for financing was rejected by the Film Commission, as a result of the finding that the applicant companies were dissolved;
- 1 financing application was rejected due to the failure to submit the project update documentation;
- 12 financing applications for the granting of state aid in the total amount of 61,240,388.61 lei have been updated and are in the analysis stage of the Technical Secretariat and are to be presented to the Film Commission for resolution, starting with the meeting on 10 May 2024:
| Name of applicant | Project | Amount requested – lei | Intensity requested |
| Opal Production SRL | Gladiatorul | 251,240.00 | 17.3% |
| Opal Production SRL | Rodrigo | 271,160.00 | 18.24% |
| Libra Films SRL | Sibiu ’89 (Libertate) | 960,000.00 | 2. 3% |
| Viva la Vidra Production SRL | Chalet | 850,121.33 | 35% |
| Viva la Vidra Production SRL | Tabăra | 769,284.93 | 35% |
| Oblique Media SRL | Cravata galbenă | 42,625,846.00 | 45% |
| PRO TV SRL | Vlad vară-toamnă 2021 | 5,765,673.00 | 45% |
| Abis Studio SRL | The Watcher | 3,624,617.99 | 35% |
| Abis Studio SRL | Rupture | 1,130,478.15 | 35% |
| Seven Film Production Service SRL | RIP Henry | 3,222,833.46 | 35% |
| Strada Film International SRL | Metronom | 665,700.00 | 35% |
- Payment requests approved on the date of handover and not settled
For 1 project, the payment request was approved on November 29, 2018 for the settlement of state aid in the amount of 379,576.00 lei.
Currently, documents are expected from the applicant, in order to settle the amount:
| Name of Applicant | Project title | Amount requested for settlement – lei | No. Decision approving the financing request | Decision given | Amount approved for settlement – lei |
| Pro TV SRL | Las Fierbinti Crăciun 2018 | 341,686.00 | 4950 | 10 Sep 2019 | 379,576 |
- Unsettled payment requests at the date of taking over the state aid scheme
As of February 13, 2024, the Technical Secretariat sent notifications regarding the updating of projects for all 28 accepted and unresolved payment requests, totaling 139,904,096 lei.
For 1 project, the payment request in the amount of 353,894.94 lei was analyzed by the Film Commission and rejected on April 19, 2024.
For 1 project, the payment request was approved on May 31, 2024, for the settlement of state aid in the amount of 2,147,304.83 lei. Currently, the project is in the provider’s analysis stage, according to art. 11 paragraph (5) from HG no. 421/2018, in order to settle the state aid:
| Name of Applicant | Project title | Amount requested for settlement – lei | No. Decision approving the financing request | Decision given | Amount approved for settlement – lei |
| Castel Films Coproduction SRL | La Vita Promessa 2 | 2,147,304.83 | 14 | May 31, 2024 | 2,147,304.83 |
The following payment requests are in the stage of analysis by the Film Commission and will be submitted resolved, in the order in which the payment requests were submitted:
| Name of applicant | Project title | The date of submission of the payment request | Amount requested for settlement – lei |
| Seven Film Production Services SRL | Box 21 | 25-Nov-19 | 3,260,127.00 |
| Doorman Movie RO SRL | Doorman | 5-Dec-19 | 4,291,623.00 |
The following payment requests are in the stage of analysis by the Technical Secretariat and will be submitted to the Film Commission for resolution, in the order in which the payment requests were submitted:
| Name of Applicant | Project title | Date of payment request | The amount requested in the payment request – lei |
| Icon Films SRL | Impulse – Episode 204 | 17-Dec-19 | 1,453,834.26 |
| Icon Films SRL | Doris Kearns Goodwin Presents: Washington | 24-Dec-19 | 4,211,472.37 |
| Castel Film SRL | A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby | 18-Feb-20 | 2,470,187.01 |
| FRAME FILM SRL | Dampyr | 19-Feb-20 | 7,081,545.00 |
| Alien Films Entertainment SRL | Killing Eve – episode 305 | 23-Mar-20 | 2,158,288.98 |
| Castel Film SRL | Christmas in Rome | 28-Apr-20 | 1,150,747.41 |
| Micro Film SRL | Simple Women | 28-Apr-20 | 664,749.00 |
| Dream Film Production Company SRL | Sacrificiul | 4-Jun-20 | 3,746,898.00 |
| Abis Studio SRL | 34 Eternity | 16-Jun-20 | 1,174,278.00 |
| Icon Films SRL | Voyagers | 22-Jun-20 | 18,585,842.00 |
| Icon Films SRL | Violence of Action | 22-Jun-20 | 20,430,823.39 |
| FRAME FILM SRL | The Asset | 8-Jul-20 | 29,875,383.00 |
| BROBIZ CUDETOATE SRL | 5 Gang The Movie | 29-Oct-20 | 490,547.71 |
| Vertical Content SRL | Investitorii | 23-Nov-20 | 612,005.97 |
| ProTV | VLAD toamnă – iarnă 2019 | 27-Nov-20 | 4,984,823.00 |
| Pro TV SRL | Profu | 27-Nov-20 | 2,109,146.00 |
| Arsia Production SRL | Seacole | 4-Dec-20 | 3,547,193.89 |
| APARTE SRL | Insula | 11-Dec-20 | 219,765.00 |
| Idea Film Distribution SRL | Richard and Sabina | 24-Feb-21 | 2,396,407.30 |
| VABS CASTEL FILM SRL | Around The World in 80 Days | 19-Apr-21 | 14,959,649.60 |
| Mobra Film SRL | The Romanian Job | 21-Apr-21 | 5,824,964.69 |
| Cinemagix ID | Eroii de la Podul Jiului | 5-May-21 | 1,416,333.32 |
| Libra Film Productions SRL | Voi muri în Carpați | 2-Sep-22 | 416,689.00 |
All public information on the Projects is constantly update on https://ofic.ro/proiecte-2018-2020/
