From the auteur filmmaker/producer Aki Kaurismäki, to Markus Selin (Solar Films), producer of top grosser local films, some 32 film producers have signed a letter denouncing the level of public support allocated for next year (€13.5m a year) exactly the same as in 2007, although an 8% increase in funds (€1.2M) had been promised for 2008.
"We will effectively have less money to work with as our costs are increasing", stressed one of the co-signatories, filmmaker/producer Claes Olsson (Kinoproduction) whose latest film Colorado Avenue is hitting the local screens today. "Last year, three production companies went bankrupt and we are afraid more independent producers will follow that road".
Irina Krohn, head of the Finnish Film Foundation commented: We've had promises about budget increases for the last decade. In the 1990s, admissions were down on domestic films (only 3.7% in 1996). So the government said that if producers could help raise the market share for local films, they would be allocated more funding. Finnish films now have a 23% market share. But the government hasn't kept its promise".
The frustration and anger from the film sector also comes from the fact that compared to other art forms, cinema is the underdog (opera gets four times more state support) and compared to other Nordic countries Finland is the ‘poor' cousin with half the level of support to film production. "We are part of the Nordic region but rather like the Baltic countries in terms of state support to film", lamented Krohn.
Two days ago, the Finnish Chamber of Films representing all Finnish distributors and exhibitors gave its full support to the producers' strike, pleading the government to give a "concrete sign of subsidy as soon as possible". According to Tero Koistinen, executive director of The Finnish Cinema Exhibitors' Association, a weakening of the Finnish production sector would have dramatic effects on some 50 small towns and communities that may loose their cinemas, largely dependent on Finnish movies.
His colleague from the Finnish Distributors Association Raija Nurmio also warned that Finnish distributors' capacity to take risks would be remarkably diminished if Finnish films "would disappear from the cinemas and other channels of distribution". "This would be a catastrophe to the Finnish film culture as a whole and to cinema audience in particular", he said.
Irina Krohn who spent 12 years in politics, tried to sound more positive. "For once, the whole film sector is united. The Ministry of Culture said it was still committed to its programme which is to double the amount of production support within the next five years"..."There could be a real opportunity for change". She also said that a positive outcome for the crisis could come from the Parliament. "Although the government has already submitted its budget proposal for 2008, it can still decide on an extra budget allocation in the spring if Parliament agrees to it", she said.
Yesterday, all industry representatives were supposed to meet the Finnish Minister of Culture to discuss the crisis. Krohn who was expected to make a speech said that she would remind the government about the harsh economic realities of the Finnish film branch.