After many years of effort by the local film industry, Poland finally got its own incentive scheme. From February 2019 the Polish Film Institute, the main funding body supporting film production in the country, provides access to a generous 30% cash rebate on productions, including feature films, animations, documentaries and series made in Poland.
The scheme is managed by the Polish Film Institute and offers reimbursement of production costs incurred in Poland in the amount of 30% of Polish eligible expenditures. The funds come directly from the state budget and are distributed throughout the year on the first come, first served basis. At least 10% of the annual budget is intended to support animated productions.
Reimbursement is available for feature films, animations, documentaries and series - fiction, animated and documentary. The return is available for the production of Polish and international co-productions and services provided for foreign productions. To apply for support a Polish partner or company registered in Poland is required.
To enter the scheme an applicant needs to pass the qualification test and meet minimum spending thresholds. The minimum spending levels are different for different genres – i.e. for feature films the threshold has been set at PLN 2.5 million (approx. EUR 600,000 for those applying in 2019 (increase to PLN 3 million / EUR 715,000 next year and PLN 4 million / EUR 950,000 from 2021), for feature animation on PLN 1 million (EUR 240,000) and documentaries on PLN 300,000 (EUR 70,000). The producers of series need to prepare to spend at least EUR 240,000 per episode in case of fiction live action series; and PLN 1 million (EUR 240,000) per season in case of documentary or animated series. There is a cap per project – PLN 15 million (EUR 3.33 million) and a cap per applicant per calendar year – PLN 20 million (EUR 4.76 million). The reimbursement is paid after the presentation and positive verification of the final report on production or the stage of work covered by the support.
Applications are submitted in Polish and can be made at the earliest 6 months before and at the latest 2 months before the start of the part of the production to which the application relates. The Polish Film Institute takes up to 28 calendar days to assess the application.
In addition to the new incentive scheme Poland offers extensive opportunities for film and TV productions, from a wide range of diverse locations, through an experienced pool of incredible local talents who have been responsible for a wealth of outstanding films including the Oscar nominated “Cold War” by Paweł Pawlikowski or the European Film Awards winner “Another Day of Life” by Damian Nenow and Raúl de la Fuente, up to state-of-the-art facilities and sound stages.
More information about the 30% cash rebate scheme is available at the Polish Film Institute website: http://en.pisf.pl/incentives.
