Managing Director of the Finnish Film Foundation is utterly relieved.

The Finnish government is cancelling the previously planned up to €7.8 million cut in public investment in film production that would have primarily affected the Finnish Film Foundation’s (FFF) funding, lowering the organisation’s current budget with up to 35%.

The cancellation of the cuts was announced by Minister of Science and Culture Mari-Leena Talvitie during a plenary session of parliament on Thursday. She confirmed that the government’s planned cuts in business support will not affect the cultural sector after all.

Before the budget cuts were cancelled, the Finnish film industry had reacted strongly to the previously planned cuts and the consequences they would have on Finnish film production.

Lasse Saarinen, Managing Director of the Finnish Film Foundation, is now pleased and relieved:

“This shows that democracy is working, when the government is able to reverse a decision that it seemingly made on the basis of an incomplete impact assessment. Over the past five weeks, the entire film and audiovisual industry has successfully communicated the catastrophic effects of the cuts. Simultaneously, the entire domestic media has supported us, and we have been able to get our message across excellently and bring it to the attention of both politicians and the general public. Even the level at which we have been able to participate in Nordic cooperation was at risk. Fortunately, this threat has now been removed,” Saarinen tells NFTVF.

The cuts would have affected the domestic production of 8–10 features a year, while risking to wipe out hundreds of jobs and shut down small-town cinemas. Nordisk Film & TV Fond’s CEO, Liselott Forsman, says that the cancellation is good news for the whole Nordic region and beyond:

“Since the discussion of the cuts started, the support for the Finnish film industry has been very visible at international meetings. The relief that the Finnish industry can remain a vital part of our Nordic industry is now shared across borders. Nordic films are strong internationally, on a Cannes and Academy Awards level, but also at home. Domestic ticket shares are high in our region, and especially high in Finland, where 32% of the tickets sold last year were for Finnish films. When Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves (Kuolleet lehdet) won the Jury Prize in Cannes, it was also the 4th most watched film in Finland, falling short only to Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Super Mario.”

Nordisk Film & TV Fond has previously reported on the cuts: CLICK HERE.