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Apply for funding for digitisation of films with special value

If you want to digitise historically important or valuable German films, you can apply for funding under certain conditions.

Online services & Forms

Online services

Responsible for you

Filmförderungsanstalt

Street address

Große Präsidentenstraße 9
10178 Berlin

Postal address

Große Präsidentenstraße 9

10178 Berlin

Email

info@ffa.de

Website

www.ffa.de

Mehr zur Behörde

Procedure details

The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), the federal states and the Federal Film Board (FFA) promote the preservation of national film heritage.

As a rule, you can receive funding of up to EUR 40,000 for the following measures:

  • Digitisation of short or long films
    • of special film-historical importance or
    • documentary value or
    • artistic value.

Your digitisation needs must fit into one of the following categories:

  • Evaluation interest:
    • You pursue a commercial interest, for example, via
      • Cinema exploitation,
      • festival exploitation,
      • DVD,
      • Blu-ray,
      • Video on Demand or
      • television.
    • curatorial interest:
      • You are planning digitisation from a film history perspective, for example for a film museum.
    • conservation interest:
      • You are planning digitisation because the analogue film material is endangered.

Eligible costs are:

  • Costs of digitization and restoration:
    • project-related personnel expenses,
    • project-related material costs for digitisation and restoration
    • project-related other costs:
      • travel expenses
      • transports
      • loan fees
    • project-related handling costs up to 7.5 percent

The grant is paid on demand:

  • 80 percent for eligible expenses you must incur within 6 weeks.
  • In addition, according to evaluation interest, 20 percent of the funding is only paid out after
    • Presentation of proof of use,
    • confirmation of storage from the Federal Archives and
    • Confirmation of the documentation of the submitted documents at the film portal.

In order to receive the grant, you must prove what you spent the money on. You must keep all invoices and receipts related to eligible costs.

You are not eligible to receive the grant.

You submit your application online to the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

Applications may be submitted by:

  • Persons holding the rights to the film or
  • who are in possession of the original material and have the consent of the person holding the rights, or
  • Film heritage institutions and archives without proof of rights for the purpose of safeguarding the film.

Other conditions:

  • the applicant must have his or her place of residence or business in Germany
    • applicants with their place of residence or business in
      • Another Member State of the European Union,
      • Iceland,
      • Liechtenstein,
      • Norway or
      • Switzerland

must have a branch office in Germany

  • the film must have special film-historical significance or documentary or artistic value.
  • the film must be suitable for the cinema.
  • your own contribution to the costs must be at least 20 percent.
  • the digital version must have a resolution of at least 2 K (2048 pixels in width).

You must submit the application for funding online to the German Federal Film Board (FFA).

  • Register on the FFA's application portal.
  • Upload the required documents.
  • Your application form will be automatically generated on the FFA application portal based on your uploaded information.
  • Print and sign the application form.
  • Submit the signed application form to the FFA.
  • The FFA will review your application and decide whether to approve it.
  • FFA will notify you by mail if your application is approved.
  • If your application is approved, you will receive a grant notification.
  • If your application is rejected, you will be informed of the reasons for rejection by mail.
  • Once the decision has become final, you can submit a request for funds.
  • The FFA will review your application for payment and transfer the funds to the project account of the person receiving the grant.

  • none

  • Application: Applications can be submitted on an ongoing basis
  • Grant period: 12 months to implement the project
  • Application for payment: after you have made your expenditure or at the earliest 6 weeks before necessary payment
  • Final evaluation: at the latest 6 months after the end of the grant period

  • for processing the application after the meeting date: up to 4 weeks
  • from request for funds to payment: 2 to 4 weeks

Status: 09.03.2025
Editorially responsible for prodecure description: Der Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien
Source: Federal Portal