Sørfond

The main goal of Sørfond is to strengthen the freedom of speech and human rights in DAC countries where these rights are limited for political, social, or economic reasons.

To obtain this goal Sørfond seeks to strengthen film as a cultural expression, and to promote artistic freedom and cultural diversity through allocating production support to independent film producers from DAC countries. This includes support to productions and producers that will contribute to promoting women’s rights and gender equality.

Sørfond also seeks to forge a close cooperation between Norwegian filmmakers and filmmakers in the DAC countries, and to facilitate access to further international networks for financing and dissemination of the works.

The maximum grant amount for any single project is NOK 1 million.

The application must be submitted through NFI’s application portal. The entire application must be in English. The following list is not exhaustive. Please see the Guidelines section 5 for an exhaustive list of requirements for the application.

• Documentation that the main producer holds the film rights.
• The script or project description if the application concerns a documentary film.
• The director's notes.
• The Norwegian minority producer's notes.
• A maximum three page note from the Norwegian minority producer explaining how the project fulfils the main goal of Sørfond. The note should include a brief description of how the project will contribute to women’s rights and gender equality. The note should also include a brief reflection of how to prevent the project from causing unintended negative consequences for i) women’s rights and gender equality, ii) human rights, iii) climate and the environment, iv) anti-corruption.
• A signed letter of intent on the co-production between the main and the minority producers.
• Signed statement from the Norwegian minority producer and the main producer confirming zero-tolerance towards any financial irregularities and sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH). See template under “Templates applicable for this scheme”.
• The CV of key members of the production.
• The track record of the main production company and Norwegian minority production company.
• A completed form detailing previous results achieved by the main producer, the Norwegian minority producer and the director.
• The production schedule, shooting schedule and estimated date of the premiere.
• The total budget estimate for the project in NOK, EUR or USD.
• A financing plan in NOK that specifies all funding. See template under “Templates applicable for this scheme”.
• Documentation that at least 50 % of the funding has been confirmed.
• Plans for environmental sustainability in the production (Green Production).
• The producers should be familiar with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, as well as the OECD guidelines for responsible business conduct.. See link to these documents under “Templates applicable for this scheme”.

• Guidelines for film production grants from Sørfond (pdf) (valid from 2026 onwards)
• Ordningsregelverk for Sørfond (pdf) (only in Norwegian)
• Guidelines Sørfond 2023-2025 (pdf)
• Guidelines Sørfond 2020-2022 (pdf)
• OECD DAC list
• Template - Statement from the Grantee/Sub-grantee confirming zero-tolerance towards any financial irregularities and SEAH.
• Template Financial Plan (xlsx) - to be used in application
• Sørfond home page
• UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
• OECD guidelines for responsible business conduct

Sørfond is administered by The Norwegian Film Institute, in co-operation with Oslo Festival Agency (OFA). Sørfond is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).

The projects are selected by an external jury consisting of three to five members. The jury selects projects based on an overall assessment of artistic, production-related and economic aspects (see the Guidelines section 6). As a part of the assessment the jury shall consider if the projects are in line with the fund's main goal, as described in the Guidelines section 2.