Administrative Regulations
The Hessen Film Fund (Hessische Filmförderung, HFF) consists of the Cultural Film Fund of the State of Hessen (Kulturelle Filmförderung des Landes Hessen, HFF-Land) and the Hessischer Rundfunk Film Fund (Hessischer Rundfunk Filmförderung, HFF-hr).
Cultural Film Fund of the State of Hessen (HFF-Land)
Regulations Governing the Allocation of State of Hessen Film and Cinema Support Funding
1. Goal
The State Government of Hessen supports film and cinema culture in Hessen with the goal of increasing its diversity and quality and contributing to the development of Hessen as a media location. In working towards this goal, it strives to achieve the closest possible cooperation with the Hessischer Rundfunk Film Fund.
2. Connection with Hessen
The projects should have a connection with the State of Hessen.
A connection with Hessen exists when:
- the main focus of the applicant’s artistic work is in Hessen,
- the support funds are primarily spent in Hessen,
- the subject of the project involves the State of Hessen.
Exceptions are possible, for example, in the case of projects supported jointly by a group of state film funds.
3. Scope
Support is provided in the fields of
- production, including
- preproduction,
- production,
- postproduction,
- distribution, also including non-commercial distribution systems,
- screening, including
- commercial screening locations, non-commercial screening locations, local film societies especially in rural areas, particularly for innovative projects and special equipment,
- series of films for children and young people,
- additional copies of new films for movie theatres in Hessen in municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants,
- the production and distribution of copies of important repertory and art films,
- other measures, and
- film festivals.
4.1 Prizes
Hessen’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts awards various prizes:
- The Hessen Film Prize honours outstanding feature, documentary, short or experimental films.
The Hessen Film Prize is endowed with 75,000 euros and is awarded to the film director of the selected film or films. The prize can be distributed between a maximum of three films.
The prize money is intended to be used within two years on another film that has a connection with Hessen and it is only paid when the new film project begins.
In addition, the Film Prize jury can nominate exceptional individual achievement by one film project to be honoured with the unendowed Special Jury Prize.
- The Hessen Student Film Prize honours the best final year film made at higher education institutions in Hessen.
The Hessen Student Film Prize is endowed with 7,500 euros and is awarded for the best film produced by a student as a final-year project at a higher education institution in Hessen.
- The Hessen Cinema Culture Prize for Commercial Movie Theatres and the Cinema Culture Prize for Non-Commercial Movie Theatres honour qualitatively outstanding commercial cinemas in Hessen and exceptional achievement in the area of non-commercial screening respectively.
The Hessen Cinema Culture Prizes are endowed with a total of 95,000 euros.
The Hessen Cinema Culture Prize for Commercial Movie Theatres is endowed with 75,000 euros and is awarded to commercially operated, non-publicly funded cinemas in Hessen for outstanding cultural commitment.
The Hessen Cinema Culture Prize for Non-Commercial Movie Theatres is endowed with 20,000 euros and is awarded to non-commercial screening locations, municipal cinemas and local film societies.
- The Hessen Screenplay Prize honours screenwriters and screenplays that have a connection with Hessen.
The Hessen Screenplay Prize is endowed with 7,500 euros and is awarded to authors of a screenplay with a connection with Hessen. The screenplay must not yet have been filmed.
Der Hessische Drehbuchpreis in Höhe von 7.500 Euro wird an Autorinnen/Autoren eines Drehbuchs mit einem Bezug zum Land Hessen vergeben. Das Drehbuch darf noch nicht verfilmt sein.
4.2 Rules
The prizes named in section 4 shall be awarded annually within the framework of one or more official events.
Producers, directors, students, screenwriters, cinemas and non-commercial screening locations can apply for the prizes with productions, programmes, projects or works that were completed or executed in the past year.
Nominations can be put forward by film associations and film institutions to which producers and directors can apply.
A nomination procedure shall take place to select the feature films.
The prizewinning films must be approved for general release by the Voluntary Self-Regulation of the Film Industry (FSK).
4.3 Juries
Three juries shall be formed to allocate funding and select prizewinners. These juries shall be responsible for:
- production, screenplay and distribution,
- film prizes and the screenplay prize,
- screening, film festivals and the cinema prize including the film art prize.
Jury a) shall consist of three members and juries b) and c) shall each consist of five members.
Hessen’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts shall appoint the members of the jury for production, screenplay and distribution and the jury for film prizes and the screenplay prize. Two of the members of the jury for the film prizes and the screenplay prize shall be representatives of Hessen’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts and the chief executive of Hessen Film Fund, who will also hold the jury chair.
All other jury members shall be appointed by Hessen’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts on the basis of a joint recommendation of Film- und Kinobüro Hessen e.V. and Filmhaus Frankfurt. (The recommendations shall be accompanied by a record of the joint decision-making process and all the candidates nominated by the individual associations and considered during the selection process.)
The members of the jury for screening, film festivals and the cinema prize including the film art prize shall be appointed by Hessen’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts on the basis of recommendations from Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kino e.V., Film- und Kinobüro Hessen e.V. and two recommendations from Verbund Filmfestivals Hessen.
Each jury shall elect one member as its chair.
Substitute members shall be nominated and appointed for all members of the jury.
Members of the juries are appointed for two years. Members can be re-appointed to the jury once only.
The juries shall consider and recommend projects to receive funding in accordance with these regulations; in the process, they shall take into account the respective budget allocations provided for the respective support areas by Hessen’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts.
In making their recommendations, the members of the jury shall be independent and not bound by any instructions. Written minutes shall be produced of all funding and prize meetings (these records must contain explanations of the reasons for decisions and of the connection with Hessen). Hessen’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts shall be provided with a copy of the minutes of each meeting with the recommendations and shall then make a decision.
The jury for the film prizes and the screenplay prize shall meet once a year.
The jury for screening and the cinema prize including the film art prize shall meet once or twice a year.
The jury for production, screenplay and distribution shall meet once or twice a year.
5. Project Funding
The Executive Office of the Hessen Film Fund shall communicate the jury’s recommendations to the candidates who have been nominated to receive funding and inform the public.
Hessen’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts shall issue approval notices.
Cultural film funding is provided as a state grant earmarked for a specific purpose.
Films that receive funding from the Hessen Film Fund shall be presented to the German Board of Film Recommendation (FBW) for evaluation.
Funding awarded on the basis of these regulations can also be combined with funding from other institutions. Should upper limits for public-sector funding be prescribed under German or European law, these shall also apply to funding pursuant to these regulations. Exceptions apply particularly in the case of “small” and “difficult” films, e.g. short films, documentaries, films by up-and-coming film-makers, and children’s films.
In principle, the Hessen Film Fund does not provide 100% funding. Exceptions are only possible in very special cases.
The maximum amounts of funding for individual projects are as follows:
| Preproduction |
15.000 euros |
| Production |
75.000 euros |
| Postproduction |
10.000 euros |
| Distribution |
15.000 euros |
| Screening measures pursuant to section 3Ca |
15.000 euros |
| Other measures3D |
10.000 euros |
Postproduction funding can only take place if the project has not yet received any other public funding.
Producers must arrange a cost-free performance of supported productions.
One voucher copy on an electronic medium shall be made available to the Hessen Film Fund.
Immediately after the film has been completed, one copy of the film in its original format shall be transferred to the German Film Institute (DIF) – or another recognized German film archive – for archiving.
The first use of a supported film shall ensue in movie theatres or other public screening locations for 12 months after its completion. Exemptions from this period can be permitted when the first use has come to an end.
Projects with total costs of more than 25,000 euros shall be subject to preliminary examination by an accredited auditor. Statements of the use of funds for the aforesaid projects shall also be scrutinized by a recognized auditor pursuant to the State of Hessen’s General Additional Regulations Governing Funds Allocated for Project Support.
The Hessen Film Fund recognizes audits conducted by the Auditing Department of Hessischer Rundfunk. It also recognizes audits by other state film funds.
Funding for the screening of films shall be distributed between the individual support areas by Hessen’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts.
6. Film Festivals
Support for film events and film festivals in Hessen or film events and film festivals that have a connection with Hessen aims to build contacts between film-makers and the public and provide an overview of film and media activities in Hessen.
Support for film festivals shall be realized in consultation with the jury for screening, film festivals and the cinema prize including the film art prize. The final decision lies with Hessen’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts.
7. Copies of Current Films and Important Repertory and Art Films
The production of copies of important current films and repertory and art films shall be funded to support movie theatres in Hessen and to ensure their availability, circulation and inclusion in art film programmes.
The German Federal Film Board (FFA) shall be allocated funding for this purpose on provision that these funds be used to produce additional copies of current popular films as well as repertoire and art films. These additional copies are intended for screening in movie theatres in Hessen in communities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants.
8. Executive Office of the Hessen Film Fund
In order to prepare, administer and realize the promotion of film on behalf of the State of Hessen and the Hessischer Rundfunk, the sponsors shall support the Executive Office of the Hessen Film Fund on the basis of a contractual agreement with an independent agency.
This Executive Office is responsible
- for preparing and completing the judging of the prizes;
- for the processing of funding applications – including the acceptance of applications, their formal preliminary investigation, the preparation and organization of jury meetings, notification of funding recommendations to Hessen’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts and Hessischer Runkfunk as well as supporting the completion of the supported projects – and shall secure the relevant statements of use of funds prescribed by state fiscal legislation provided that an auditor has not been commissioned to do so or the Hessischer Rundfunk does not have special requirements.
9. Deadlines
The application deadlines for the prizes shall be determined by Hessen’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts in consultation with the Executive Office of the Hessen Film Fund and made public by the latter.
Submission deadlines for funding applications shall be determined by Hessen’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts in consultation with the Hessischer Rundfunk and made public by the Executive Office of the Hessen Film Fund.
10. Additional Support Measures
Hessen’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and the Arts shall decide on additional film promotion measures..
11. Coming into Effect
These regulations shall apply from 15 August 2010.
Wiesbaden, August 2010
The Ministry of Higher Education, Research
and the Arts of the State of Hessen
IV 4 – 773/26.007
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