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🇮🇸 Iceland /Culture & Society

Icelandic Film Centre Clarifies Funding Roles

From Morgunblaðið · () Icelandic

Translated from Icelandic, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Iceland's Film Centre (KMÍ) clarifies its role in supporting the film industry, distinguishing it from the government's film fund and tax rebate system.
  • The center states its mandate is to promote Icelandic film culture and international promotion, while Film in Iceland handles marketing the country as a filming location.
  • KMÍ manages the Icelandic Film Fund, which supports domestic productions, separate from the tax rebate system for international projects governed by different legislation.

Iceland's Film Centre (KMÍ) has issued a clarification regarding its responsibilities and the structure of film funding in the country. This comes in response to a recent discussion about the state of filmmaking in Iceland, which suggested KMÍ might be responsible for actively seeking foreign film projects.

Film Fund and the rebate system are two separate systems in different policy areas. Changes to one system do not affect the other.

— Icelandic Film CentreClarifying the distinction between film funding mechanisms in Iceland.

KMÍ emphasizes that it is not their role to pursue international productions; that task falls to Film in Iceland, an initiative by Promote Iceland. The center points out that the film fund and the tax rebate system are two distinct mechanisms operating under different budgetary areas. Changes to one do not affect the other.

The initiative of Promote Iceland, Film in Iceland, specifically handles the promotion of Iceland as a filming location for foreign film and television projects.

— Icelandic Film CentreDefining the role of Film in Iceland in attracting international productions.

The Icelandic Film Centre's legal mandate, as defined by the Film Act of 2001, involves overseeing the Film Fund, fostering Icelandic film culture, and promoting Icelandic films both domestically and internationally. It also facilitates information exchange and cooperation with international film entities.

The legal mandate of KMÍ is to oversee the operation and activities of the Film Fund, promote Icelandic film culture, and foster the promotion, distribution, and sale of Icelandic films at home and abroad.

— Icelandic Film CentreExplaining the core responsibilities of the Icelandic Film Centre.

In contrast, the tax rebate system for filmmaking is based on separate legislation from 1999. This system allows for a reimbursement of a portion of production costs for films and television series shot in Iceland. While KMÍ assists a committee appointed by the minister in managing these rebates, the core function of supporting Icelandic productions financially rests with the Icelandic Film Fund.

The Film Fund operates under KMÍ according to the Film Act of 2001. The fund's role is to promote Icelandic filmmaking through financial support.

— Icelandic Film CentreDescribing the function of the Icelandic Film Fund.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Morgunblaðið in Icelandic. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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