Pre-Production Funding / Feature Film Pre-Production

Producers with a registered office in Germany are eligible to apply.

Applicants must have at least one completed feature-length fiction or documentary film or one series to their credit.

Funding covers pre-production activities through the first day of shooting and may amount to up to 80% of the estimated pre-production costs, up to a maximum of €100,000.

This funding is intended specifically for research-intensive feature film and series projects.

The grant amount must be spent in North Rhine-Westphalia to the greatest extent possible.

Work on the project may not begin until after the application has been submitted.

Students are not eligible to apply for this grant.

A consultation is required before submitting an application.

Producers and directors headquartered in North Rhine-Westphalia are eligible to apply.

The Simplified Funding program focuses on culturally sophisticated low-budget projects. Funding is available for projects across various genres, including feature films, documentaries, experimental films, and animated films.

Funding is provided for activities related to the preparation of a film project prior to the start of production, such as research, location and setting scouting, casting, script development or polishing, a portion of the director’s fee, rights acquisition, travel expenses, rental of technical equipment, cost estimates and shooting schedules, translations, legal advice, or trailer production.

To apply, you must submit the project documents required for the project as well as a production or action plan for the project preparation to be funded. The required information and documents will be explained during the consultation.

The maximum funding amount for production preparation is 25,000 euros. The funding is provided as a grant.

The grant may not exceed 80 percent of the calculated total costs of the funded project.

At least 5 percent of the estimated costs must be covered by the applicant’s own funds.

The grant amount must be spent in North Rhine-Westphalia to the greatest extent possible.

Students are not eligible to apply under the Simplified Funding program. A separate funding opportunity is available for graduation film projects.

A consultation is required before submitting an application. Access to the application form on the online portal will be activated only after the consultation has taken place.

Projects that have already been submitted under the regular funding program and were not funded cannot be submitted under a comparable funding category within the Simplified Funding program.

A project may be submitted for funding no more than twice.

As a general rule, the funded project may not begin until after the application has been submitted.