The public funding for Swedish film has been eroded and internationally, Sweden now has low public financing – this emerges from a status report from the ongoing film inquiry.
The report is being presented to the film industry gathered at the Fågel Blå cinema in Stockholm. Compared to other cultural areas, relatively large sums are invested in the film sector, the investigators highlight – which is explained by the fact that the costs of making films are also high.
However, internationally, Sweden is now ranked low, even when it comes to production incentives, i.e. various discounts and subsidies introduced by countries and regions to attract film and drama productions.
Even Swedish film productions are partly made abroad to take advantage of the benefits, for example, the "Lasse-Maja" films in Ireland and "Borg" in the Czech Republic. The global players also tend to invest less in Swedish content.
In addition, the Swedish Film Institute's grants and support have stagnated and thereby eroded since the pandemic subsided.
Furthermore, cinema attendance in Sweden has recovered worse after the pandemic compared to cinema visits in other Nordic countries. At the same time, Swedish films and drama series are doing well in streaming services and other viewing windows – where demand appears to be greater than supply, according to the investigators.
The film inquiry is to present its proposals for measures by 28 February next year.
