2006 Film Agreement

The Government Bill describes the new film agreement, the 2006 film agreement, which runs from 2006 to 2010. The agreement was entered into on 15 September 2005 between the State, the Swedish Exhibitors Association (Sveriges Biografägareförbund), the Swedish Film Producers Association (Föreningen Sveriges Filmproducenter), the Swedish Film Distributors Association (Sveriges Filmuthyrareförening u.p.a.), Sveriges Television AB, TV4 AB (publ.), the Temperance Centres' Association (Riksföreningen Våra Gårdar), the National Federation of People's Parks and Community Centres (Folkets Hus och Parker), the Association of Swedish Film Distributors (Svenska Filmdistributörers Förening u.p.a.), ModernTimes Group MTG AB, Kanal 5 AB and C More Entertainment AB. The last four are new parties to the agreement as of the 2006 film agreement.

Aim of the agreement

The parties agree that the purpose of the agreement is to:

• support and stimulate the renewal and development of valuable Swedish film production and the distribution and screening of film throughout the country,
• work to establish Swedish film production as a dynamic growth industry,
• improve the conditions of women film-makers,
• promote work to combat the unauthorised use of films in all screening formats,
• work for Swedish film to reflect the whole of the country,
• work to enable Swedish film to reach a larger audience in all screening formats, both in Sweden and internationally, and
• work for an increase in the number of cinema visits in Sweden.

Scope and content of the agreement

The agreement covers all support for the production of Swedish film and some support for the distribution and screening of film throughout the country.

Production support includes advance support for feature films, films for children and young people and short and documentary films, as well as development. Audience-related post-production support and support for regional production centres also come under production support.

Support for the distribution and screening of film throughout the country consists of film launch support, support for parallel distribution and cinema support. There is a special form of support for international launches of new Swedish film.

The agreement also contains a special form of support for measures to combat the unauthorised use of film in all screening formats. A portion of the funds under the agreement will also be used for international fees for cooperation in bodies like Eurimages and the Nordic Film and TV Fund (NFTF).

Under the agreement increased funding is being provided for advance support for feature film production and for the production of films for children and young people and short and documentary films. Special attention will be given to animated film. There is also increased finance for development support and audience-related post-production support. Development support includes greenhouse funding, project-based support for scriptwriters, producers and directors and business support for independent producers.

Support for regional production centres is being increased in order to further contribute to regional development.

Support for parallel distribution - which is intended to give cinemas in small communities the opportunity of showing current films and offering a broader range of films - is being increased. Cinema support is being made technology-neutral, in areas where this is relevant. Film launch support is being made needs-tested. The support for international launches is being increased in order to improve opportunities for Swedish films in other countries.

To counter piracy problems, special funding is being provided for measures to combat the unauthorised use of films.

Gender perspective in the area of film

A clear gender perspective informs all parts of the agreement. The parties agree to work to increase gender equality in the area of film. The target is for support for Swedish film production to be divided evenly between men and women. The proportion of women in the central functions in film production must increase during the period of the agreement. No later than one year before the end of the period of the agreement, each sex should have at least 40 per cent representation, counted as the number of projects receiving support, in the categories of scriptwriter, producer and director. This target applies to the film categories of feature film, film for children and young people and short and documentary film.

Each year the Swedish Film Institute will report the distribution between men and women for scriptwriters, producers and directors in the film projects that receive support and the average levels of support for films only or mainly by men and women respectively. The distribution in the remainder of the film team for these projects has also to be reported.

The report will also cover the funds that regional production centres use to finance film projects.