Norsk filminstitutt

Sørfond grants top financing for co-production of fiction and documentary films where the main producer is located in a DAC-country. The applications to Sørfond must be made through a Norwegian minority producer.

Application deadline

05. Mar 2024 at 12.00 CET

Purpose

Sørfond is regulated by the Guidelines for film production grants from Sørfond 2023-2025 (the Guidelines). Please read the Guidelines before applying.

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.

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).

What you may apply for

You may apply for top financing for co-production of fiction film and documentary film. The maximum aid amount for any single project is NOK 1 million.

Who may apply

• A private, independent production company in Norway that has audio-visual productions as its main activity.
• The company may not be predominantly publicly owned or closely linked to a broadcasting organisation.
• The company must be organized as a limited liability company (in Norwegian: aksjeselskap/AS).
• The company must be registered in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises (Brønnøysundregisteret)
• The applicant company must represent the Norwegian minority producer.

Funding criteria

The application must be submitted before the work for which the grant is applied for has started.

The Norwegian minority producer and the main producer must have entered into a co-production agreement. A letter of intent will be accepted for the application.

The main producer must be established as a private production company that has primary responsibility for the financial and practical implementation of the project and owns the film rights.

Key persons connected to both the majority and the minority producer must have documented professional experience in their fields.

The minimum running time of the production is 50 minutes, and the film must be produced for screening in cinemas, on television, or on other audio-visual media platforms.

The main producer must be established in a country on the DAC list. The director must be a citizen of, or resident in a country on the DAC list. The film must be principally shot in a country on the DAC list, and at least 70 % of the grant must be spent in a country on the DAC list.

At least 50 % of the total funding of the production must be confirmed at the date of the application deadline.

Important requirements for the application

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 one page note from the Norwegian minority producer which must explain how the project fulfils the main goal of Sørfond.

• A signed letter of intent on the co-production between the main and the minority producers.

• Signed statement from the main producer confirming zero-tolerance towards any financial irregularities and sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH).

• 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.

• Documentation that at least 50 % of the funding has been confirmed.

• Plans for environmental sustainability in the production (Green Production).

Related documents and links

Documents related to previous Sørfond project periods

Assessment and prioritisation

• The evaluation period is up to twelve weeks from the application deadline.

• 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.

• Only projects fulfilling the formal criteria in sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Guidelines will be considered by the jury. The Norwegian Film Institute assesses whether the formal criteria are fulfilled.

• The Norwegian Film Institute may make a pre-selection of the applications to be forwarded to the jury, if more than 25 qualified productions fulfil the formal criteria. The pre-selection is based on Sørfond's main goal, as set out in section 2 in the Guidelines. A further description of the pre-selection assessment is set out in the Guidelines section 7.

• Projects with a main producer in one of Norway's partner countries for development cooperation (see annex 1 of the Guidelines) will be prioritised.

• Projects that were presented at the Sørfond pitching forum (see section 12 in the Guidelines) will go directly to the jury as long as they meet the formal criteria for grants from Sørfond (see section 2, 3 and 4 of the Guidelines).

Contact

Tina Beate Goa Fagerheim

Production Adviser Incentive Scheme and Sørfond
+47 416 71 012 
Tina.Fagerheim[@]nfi.no

Tina Beate Goa Fagerheim