November 20th the Parliament of Greenland passed a new law for founding a film institute that will be in charge of funding, film promotion and the fresh 25% rebate scheme.

After years of dedication from Greenlandic filmmakers, the dream of establishing a formal institute in the country has finally been realised. Yesterday the Parliament (Inatsisartut) unanimously passed a long-awaited law on founding Greenland’s first film institute, Kalaallit Nunaanni Filminstitutti. This is a significant milestone for the Greenlandic film industry.

Several amendments have been made to the original law proposal, and the final wording of the proposal has yet to be finalised. The budget is to be established in 2025, and the government (Naalakkersuisut) will appoint a chairperson for the institute's board. Four organisations will nominate representatives to the board: Film.gl, the Greenland Arts Foundation, the actors' organisation, and the Greenland Employers' Association.

The board is responsible for selecting the CEO of the Greenland Film Institute. Subsequently, the director will recruit a small team of employees, including a film commissioner for Greenland.

The film institute will now establish its physical premises and plan its activities in order to be ready to operate from January 1, 2026. The purpose of the institute is:

  • To promote local feature films, short films and documentaries
  • To promote cinema activities, film festivals and film culture in Greenland
  • To increase awareness of both Greenlandic and foreign films in Greenland
  • To promote the sale and awareness of Greenlandic films abroad
  • To collect film and TV literature, and make the collections accessible to the public
  • To ensure a wide range of audience-oriented activities related to film
  • To maintain an ongoing dialogue with the film industry and key user groups regarding the operations of the institute
  • To inform and advise on the suitability of films for children and young people, including whether a film may be considered harmful to them
  • To promote professional experimental filmmaking and talent development

The new law also includes an obligatory application process for foreign production companies that want to film in Greenland, and will access a 25% reimbursement of local expenses.

From Film.gl to the Greenlandic Film Institute

During the last two years, Greenland has nominated titles (a fiction film in 2023 and a documentary in 2024) to the Nordic Council Film Prize. The chairman of Film.Gl, Klaus Georg Hansen, has been the Greenlandic member of the Jury. Hansen, who has a long working history in Greenland’s audiovisual industry, comments to Nordisk Film & TV Fond:

“It is a great day for the film community in our country,” adding that the industry over the past few years has gained crucial support from its international network in its efforts to establish a formal film infrastructure in Greenland. These efforts have now culminated in the fresh film law.

“Many of the activities that Film.gl has developed and been responsible for will naturally be transferred to the new institute. As an organisation, Film.gl will be able to take on new responsibilities in the shared effort to build a strong Greenlandic film community,” Hansen says.