Poland Gives Warm Welcome to Foreign Production

As Poland waits to see if Pawe? Pawlikowski’s “Cold War” wins in any of the three Oscar categories it is nominated for – foreign-language film, director and cinematography – the country has rolled out its generous production incentive.

After the 30% cash rebate jumped its final legislative hurdle, the Polish Film Institute started accepting applications last week. Feature films, animations, documentaries and series shot in Poland are all eligible. The rebate covers the expenditure in Poland for Polish and international co-productions, as well as services provided for foreign productions. To apply for support a Polish partner or company registered in Poland is required.

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Minimum spending thresholds are in place, which vary according to the genre. For feature films it is PLN 2.5 million ($654,000); for feature animation it is PLN 1 million ($262,000); and documentaries it’s PLN 300,000 ($78,460).

The producers of series need to spend at least PLN 1 million ($262,000) per episode for live-action fiction series, and PLN 1 million ($262,000) per season for documentary or animated series.

There is a cap of PLN 15 million ($3.92 million) on the rebate that can be received per project, and a cap per applicant for each calendar year – PLN 20 million ($5.23 million).

The rebate is distributed on a first come, first served basis. The total budget for the rebate this year is PLN 211 million ($55.2 million), which will rise steadily year on year, reaching PLN 266 million ($69.6 million) in 2027. At least 10% of the annual budget is intended to support animated productions.

Applications, which must be submitted in Polish, can be made between six months before, at the earliest, and two months before, at the latest, the start of the part of the production to which the application relates. The Polish Film Institute will take up to 28 calendar days to assess the application. The rebate is paid after the verification of the final report on production, or the stage of work covered by the support.

More information about the cash rebate is available at the Polish Film Institute website: https://en.pisf.pl/incentives.

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