The disqualifying questions first, so that nobody spends a month on an application they were never eligible for. Applicants are producers, not directors; students are in principle not eligible to apply (Merkblatt PRODUKTION VON FILMEN, Antragstellung no. 1), and neither are public-service broadcasters, private broadcasters or platform operators (clause 3.1.6). The applying company should have its registered seat, a branch or „zumindest eine Betriebsstätte“ — at least a place of business — in Berlin-Brandenburg by the time the money is paid out at the latest (clause 3.2.1). The film must be feature-length: at least 79 minutes, or 59 minutes for children's films, with less permitted in exceptional cases (clause 2.2). As a rule a contract securing the commercial exploitation of the film is a precondition (clause 2.2.3), so a distribution deal or comparable proof of exploitation has to be in place before you submit. On top of that come an Eigenanteil (own contribution to the financing) of normally 50% of the German financing share, but at least 30% for the production funding of theatrical films, plus the screenplay, evidence of the underlying rights, a budget showing the Regionaleffekt separately, a financing plan with supporting evidence, and a recoupment plan. And it takes a company with a filed history: you must supply a commercial register extract with the shareholder list — for partnerships, a GbR partnership agreement (Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts) or a business registration — together with a current annual financial statement including the profit and loss account. And the hard lead time: an Antragsgespräch (advisory call) is compulsory before applying, and only after it does the application portal open — for the 20 October 2026 submission date that call must have taken place by 6 October 2026. Finally, the money is not a grant but an interest-free, conditionally repayable loan.
The Produktion Kinofilme of the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg is the production funding of the Länder (federal states) Berlin and Brandenburg, and sits alongside FFF Bayern and the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW in the front rank of German Land funding. Its basis is the Förderrichtlinie der Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH, in force from 1 January 2024, at clause 2.2 „Förderung für die Produktion von Filmen“; the detail sits in the Merkblatt PRODUKTION VON FILMEN (Spiel- und Dokumentarfilm), version of 25 February 2026. What is supported is the making of feature-length films that „eine erfolgreiche Auswertung erwarten lassen oder im besonderen Interesse des Produktionsstandortes Berlin-Brandenburg liegen“ — that promise successful exploitation or are of particular interest to Berlin-Brandenburg as a production location. Fiction features, theatrical documentaries, children's films and animation projects all run in the same category. Unlike the federal DFFF I, an automatic incentive requiring a qualifying prior film and minimum production costs, a committee decides here: no legal entitlement, no rolling submission, but four fixed funding sessions a year. The next submission date is 20 October 2026, with the decision on 12–13 January 2027.
On access, Berlin-Brandenburg is more open than the name suggests, but it ties the money to the region instead. A seat in Berlin or Brandenburg is not an access condition in the strict sense: the guideline requires a registered seat, a branch or „zumindest eine Betriebsstätte“ (at least a place of business) in Berlin-Brandenburg by the time of payment, and allows funding by way of exception where it is of particular media-cultural or media-economic interest to the region (clause 3.2.1). The 2026 award list accordingly lists companies from Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Leipzig and Potsdam alongside the Berlin ones. What is tied instead is the spending: at least the funds awarded must be spent in Berlin-Brandenburg — a Regionaleffekt (an obligation to spend in the funding region) of 100% of the award. That is far less than the 150% required by FFF Bayern, but it is a floor, not a target. Reducing the Regionaleffekt stated in the application requires Medienboard's consent (clause 3.3). What counts turns on the company seat or the branch entered in the commercial register of whoever issues the invoice, together with the service being performed in Berlin or Brandenburg, and for per diems on the employee's principal residence — not on where shooting took place (Merkblatt Regionaleffekt, version of 6 March 2024). Production overheads count only where the applying company's seat is in Berlin or Brandenburg. Independently of the Regionaleffekt, at least 20% of the production costs may be spent in another EU member state — that is a permission, not a requirement (the guideline's wording: „Land der Europäischen Gemeinschaft“).
On the amount: the guideline states neither a funding rate nor a separate maximum for production. The only figure in the guideline, €3m (clause 3.7.3), caps eligible expenditure rather than the award — and is nowhere near reached in practice. In the category „Film Produktion“, all 44 awards made in 2026 up to 25 August 2026 fell between €40,000 and €900,000, with a median of €250,000; in 2025 there were 46 awards between €10,000 and €800,000. Documentaries sit lower: between €40,000 and €100,000 in 2026. What is awarded is an interest-free, conditionally repayable loan — conditionally repayable means repayment comes out of the film's exploitation revenues, and for theatrical films the obligation normally ends ten years after the theatrical release (clauses 2.2.6 and 2.2.7). It is normally paid in five instalments against evidenced progress — 30% on signature of the contract, 35% at the start of shooting, 20% at the end of shooting, 10% after the rough cut is accepted, and the final 5% only after the closing audit. It is repaid out of all domestic and foreign exploitation revenues: once the recognised Eigenanteil positions have been recouped first, as a rule 50% of the revenues received go to repayment. On top of the award comes a handling fee to the ILB of 3% of the loan applied for: on a €300,000 award that is €9,000, which belongs in the budget and is withheld from the first instalment.
How hard the competition is can be quantified precisely since the switch to the committee model, because Medienboard publishes the number of submissions and the amount applied for at every session. At the first session of 2026 (decision 19 January 2026), 49 applications requesting €14.2m produced 20 awards totalling €5.8m; at the second (20 April 2026), 68 projects — 14 of them documentaries — requesting €16.7m produced 25 awards totalling €5.6m; at the summer session (2 July 2026), 65 projects requesting €14.3m produced 18 awards totalling €4.3m. For production funding the summer session gives the clearest figure: of 43 production applications submitted, 12 were funded with €4.15m between them — a little over one in four, that is one award for a little under four applications. Across all film categories Medienboard records 218 awards totalling €28,173,405.98 for 2026 up to 25 August 2026, and 255 awards totalling €28,278,599.26 for the whole of 2025.
On the wider framework: since January 2026 the decision is no longer taken by the management alone but by a five-member committee of four rotating industry experts and the managing director of the film funding arm — Medienboard announced the change on 28 August 2025. Watch the time limit on the Förderrichtlinie: it applies from 1 January 2024 and expires at the end of 30 June 2027 (clause 4), and no successor version had been published as at 25 August 2026. Anyone submitting now is planning a production whose administration runs past that date. Only the Förderrichtlinie in its currently valid version, Medienboard's Merkblätter and the answer of the responsible funding officer are binding. This summary replaces neither the guideline nor the advisory call, which is compulsory in any case.
Compulsory Antragsgespräch (an advisory call with a funding officer) by 6 October 2026 — without it the online application portal stays locked and submitting on 20 October 2026 is technically impossible. That is the date which decides in practice. The formal application deadline is 20 October 2026, feeding the first committee session of 2027, which sits on 12–13 January 2027.
Medienboard publishes the whole schedule, „Deadlines Filmförderung 2026/27“, expressly subject to change (unter Vorbehalt). The next binding date is 6 October 2026, not 20 October 2026: without the advisory call having taken place, the application portal stays locked. Both dates are open and not yet reached.
As at 25 August 2026, 20 October 2026 is the next published submission date for production funding; the previous submission date was 14 July 2026, and the applications filed for it are decided by the committee at the fourth session of 2026 on 29–30 September 2026, with the outcome not yet published. Two further things to allow for. First, the Einreichtermine (submission dates) page is headed „Deadlines Filmförderung 2026/27 (unter Vorbehalt)“; on its wording the reservation covers the whole table, so 20 October 2026 as well.
Second, the life of the Förderrichtlinie: it came into force on 1 January 2024 and expires at the end of 30 June 2027 (clause 4), and no successor version had been published as at 25 August 2026. That does not affect an application for 20 October 2026 or the decision on 12–13 January 2027, but it does affect the multi-year handling of a production. No exhaustion of the year's volume and no intake stop has been published for Medienboard.
Hard cut-off dates, not rolling submission. Funding requires an application within the deadlines Medienboard sets; submission is exclusively digital, through the online application portal, where the necessary documents are named and must be uploaded (clause 3.2.2; Merkblatt PRODUKTION VON FILMEN, Antragstellung no. 5). Incomplete applications that are not completed after a request with a deadline count as not filed.
Production, Stoff- und Projektentwicklung (story and project development) and Highend Serien share the same schedule: after 20 October 2026 come 2 February 2027 (calls by 19 January 2027, session 20–21 April 2027), 13 April 2027 (calls by 23 March 2027, session 22–23 June 2027), 6 July 2027 (calls by 22 June 2027, session 28–29 September 2027) and 5 October 2027 (calls by 21 September 2027, session 11–12 January 2028). Every submission must be preceded by an Antragsgespräch, which has to take place at least two weeks before the submission date (Merkblatt: „mit einer Frist von mindestens zwei Wochen“); Medienboard names a separate date for each submission date by which those calls must have taken place (Merkblatt, Antragstellung no. 4). Only one application per applicant, person or company, is admissible per session, and a project may normally be submitted only once in the same funding category (Merkblatt, Antragstellung no. 2).
What governs is the Maßnahmebeginn in the sense of physical production: production, and in particular shooting, must in principle not begin before the funding decision, and must not have begun at the time of application. Story development, the screenplay, acquiring the rights and raising the financing are not caught by this — they are preconditions of applying. In specially justified exceptional cases Medienboard may consent to an Antrag auf vorzeitigen Maßnahmebeginn (an application for consent to start work early) — that creates no entitlement to funding, and the financial risk lies with the applicant alone (clause 3.2.3).
The timetable runs well beyond the submission date: about three months separate the cut-off from the decision, and the funding commitment lapses unless the total financing is evidenced within a maximum of six months of it being issued; that period can be extended on request (clause 3.4.3).
The Förderrichtlinie (funding guideline) states neither a funding rate nor a separate maximum for the production of films. The only figure that draws a limit at all sits in the state-aid section, and it caps eligible expenditure rather than the award: „Eine Einzelförderung eines Vorhabens auf Grundlage dieser Förderrichtlinie ist auf maximal 3 Mio. Euro der förderfähigen Ausgaben begrenzt“ — a single award under this guideline is capped at €3m of eligible expenditure (clause 3.7.3). Because aid intensity must not as a rule exceed 50% under clause 3.1.4, that implies an award of at most €1.5m, rising to €3m only for a difficult audiovisual work.
In practice that limit plays no part. In the published award list for the category „Film Produktion“, all 44 awards made in 2026 up to 25 August 2026 fell between €40,000 and €900,000, totalling €13,140,000, with a median of €250,000 and an average of about €299,000; the largest single award went to „Arbeit und Struktur“ (Komplizen Film, directed by Maria Schrader) at €900,000. In 2025 there were 46 awards totalling €9,095,000, ranging from €10,000 to €800,000 — twelve of them experimental films between €10,000 and €25,000, which run on the separate Kurz- und Experimentalfilme deadline strand.
Documentaries sit markedly lower in this category than fiction features: between €40,000 and €100,000 in 2026. Three further rules limit the amount. First the Eigenanteil (the applicant's own contribution to the financing): applicants should as a rule provide 50% of the German financing share themselves (clause 2.2.5); for small and difficult projects it may be lower, but not below 30% for the production funding of theatrical films (Merkblatt EIGENANTEIL).
Second, aid intensity: it must not exceed 50% of the eligible costs, rising to 60% for cross-border productions financed by more than one member state and to 100% for difficult audiovisual works — short films, first and second films by a director, documentaries, children's and youth films, experimental films and low-budget productions (clause 3.1.4). Third, the amount is measured against the German financing share (clause 3.1.5). The budget is capped in places: Handlungskosten (production overheads) are recognised at up to 10% of the Fertigungskosten (below-the-line costs) for theatrical projects up to €5m and up to 5% above that, and at most €650,000 in total; a producer's fee of up to 5% of production costs and at most €250,000 is recognised where production costs exceed €500,000; a contingency reserve of up to 8% of the Fertigungskosten may be budgeted.
Budget in a handling fee to the ILB of 3% of the loan applied for, with a minimum of €500 on loans between €10,000 and €16,667; it counts towards the eligible production costs and the Regionaleffekt and is withheld from the first instalment. Payment is normally made in five instalments against evidenced progress: 30% on signature of the contract, 35% at the start of shooting, 20% at the end of shooting, 10% after Medienboard accepts the rough cut and 5% after the final audit is complete (Merkblatt PRODUKTION VON FILMEN). The loan is repaid out of all domestic and foreign exploitation revenues: once the recognised Eigenanteil positions have been recouped first, as a rule 50% of the revenues flowing to the applicant must go to repayment, and for theatrical films the obligation normally ends ten years after the theatrical release (clauses 2.2.6 and 2.2.7).
A committee decision with no legal entitlement. Since January 2026 a Gremium der Filmförderung (film funding committee) decides: „Das jeweilige Sitzungsgremium der Filmförderung besteht aus 5 Personen: 4 Film- und Kinoexpert:innen (Kreative, Herstellung/Finanzierung, Auswertung, Sender) rotieren aus dem unten genannten Pool plus jeweils die Geschäftsführung der Filmförderung“ — five people, four film and cinema experts covering creative work, production/financing, exploitation and broadcasters rotating from a published pool, plus the managing director of the film funding arm, currently Sarah Duve-Schmid. Decisions are taken at four fixed funding sessions a year, not on a rolling basis.
There is no legal entitlement to funding; awards are made only within the trust fund Medienboard administers (clause 3.1.2). A positive decision produces a written Förderzusage (funding commitment, clause 3.4.2); the award is then administered by the Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg (ILB), Brandenburg's state development bank. The award is state aid under Article 54 GBER — the EU General Block Exemption Regulation, which the guideline cites by its German abbreviation AGVO (clause 3.7.2) — and statements made in the application are subsidy-relevant within the meaning of § 264 of the German Criminal Code (clause 3.8.2).
01Producers may apply (clause 2.2.1). Students are in principle not eligible (Merkblatt PRODUKTION VON FILMEN, Antragstellung no. 1); graduation films by students of the dffb and the Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF, as well as debut and short films, have their own funding area, Nachwuchsfilme, under clause 2.3. Public-service broadcasters, private broadcasters and platform operators are likewise in principle not eligible to apply (clause 3.1.6).
02A seat in the region — but later than you would think: funds should be granted to companies that have „zum Zeitpunkt der Auszahlung der Förderung einen Geschäftssitz, eine Niederlassung oder zumindest eine Betriebsstätte in Berlin-Brandenburg“ — a registered seat, a branch or at least a place of business in Berlin-Brandenburg at the time the funding is paid out. By way of exception a project may also be funded where the award is of particular media-cultural or media-economic interest to Berlin-Brandenburg (clause 3.2.1). What governs is therefore the moment of payment, not the moment of application. The 2026 award list for the category „Film Produktion“ shows companies based in Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Leipzig, Mühlenberge and Potsdam alongside the Berlin ones. Whether the place of business or the special regional interest carries a given case should be settled in the advisory call.
03A feature-length film: at least 79 minutes, or 59 minutes for children's films. The minimum length may be undercut in exceptional cases (clause 2.2, Merkblatt Allgemeine Grundsätze no. 1). Projects must promise a film worth funding on the criteria of quality and economic soundness.
04Exploitation must be secured: production funding as a rule requires a contract securing the commercial exploitation of the film (clause 2.2.3). That proof of exploitation is one of the application documents. Whether a letter of intent from a distributor or world sales agent suffices in a given case, or a signed contract is required, is not conclusively settled — the guideline says only „in der Regel“ (as a rule); settle it in the advisory call. In addition, applicants should evidence that the exploitation contract with a public-service broadcaster, a private broadcaster or a VOD provider contains a reversion of television usage rights to the applicant in line with the rules of the FFG, the federal film funding act (clause 2.2.11).
01An Antragsgespräch (advisory call) with the responsible funding officer — compulsory, not recommended. It must take place at least two weeks before the submission date; for the 20 October 2026 submission date Medienboard names 6 October 2026 as the last date. Access to the online application portal is unlocked only after that call (Merkblatt, Antragstellung no. 4). Those responsible for production funding include Veronika Grob (head of film funding, v.grob@medienboard.de, +49 331 74387 21), Anja Dörken, Dr Teresa Hoefert de Turégano, Simon Lubinski, Jan-Eike Michaelis, Lilla Puskas, Alexander Roehl, Frederic Schmid and Oliver Zeller (children's film). All of them list „Produktionsförderung“ among their remits; Medienboard publishes no allocation by genre or budget size — if you do not know who is responsible, approach the head of film funding. Ask early: for the 20 October 2026 submission date, every call must have taken place by 6 October 2026.
02Applications are made exclusively in digital form through the online application portal. There is no postal or e-mail route; the necessary documents are named in the portal and must be uploaded there (clause 3.2.2, Merkblatt Antragstellung no. 5). Incomplete applications that are not supplemented on request cannot be taken into account.
03Four of the documents listed below are not paperwork but prerequisites that must be in place before you submit: evidence of the acquisition or possible acquisition of the underlying rights, the proof of exploitation, the crew and cast lists, and evidence of the individual financing components. If you do not have them, this is not your window.
04The screenplay.
05Evidence of the acquisition or possible acquisition (an option) of the rights in the underlying material.
As early as possible, and by 6 October 2026 at the latestCompulsory advisory callAn advisory call is required before applying and must take place at least two weeks before the submission date. Only afterwards is access to the online application portal unlocked — without the call, submitting on 20 October 2026 is technically impossible. This, not the submission date itself, is the date that decides in practice.
By 20 October 2026Application deadline in the online portalApplications must be filed on time and digitally in the application portal; the necessary documents are named there and must be uploaded. Medienboard publishes no time of day. Incomplete applications that are not completed after a request with a deadline count as not filed. Only one application per applicant, person or company, is admissible per session. What governs is the Maßnahmebeginn in the sense of physical production: production, and in particular shooting, must not have begun by this point. Story development, the screenplay, acquiring the rights and raising the financing are not caught by this — they are preconditions of applying. Where the line falls in a given case — for preparatory services already commissioned, say, or for location scouting — should be settled in the advisory call.
Between the submission date and the sessionAssessment by the funding officersMedienboard decides on awards after assessing the application documents, as a rule at fixed dates (clause 3.4.1). During this phase a request to complete the application may arrive; if it is not met in time the application counts as not filed (clause 3.2.2).
12–13 January 2027
Medienboard does not publish an annual film funding budget as a single figure; what can be evidenced is the sum of the funding decisions. For 2026 the film award list records 218 awards totalling €28,173,405.98 up to 25 August 2026, and for the whole of 2025, 255 awards totalling €28,278,599.26. The category described here, „Film Produktion“, accounted for 44 awards totalling €13,140,000 in 2026 up to 25 August 2026, and 46 awards totalling €9,095,000 in 2025.
For comparison: the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW reported around €38.2m for 2025 and FFF Bayern €43.1m including funds from the Bayerischer BankenFonds — but those figures also cover games and location funding, whereas the Medienboard figures given here cover film funding only; Medienboard's New Media funding for games, XR and serial formats is reported separately. Other film funding categories in 2026 up to 25 August 2026: Digitale Filmproduktion, 12 awards totalling €4,845,965.71; Standortmaßnahmen Film, 109 awards totalling €6,410,940.27; Verleih, 28 awards totalling €932,500; Film Entwicklung, 20 awards totalling €504,000; Serien Produktion, 4 awards totalling €2,300,000; and Serien Entwicklung, one award of €40,000. Awards are limited to the trust fund Medienboard administers (clause 3.1.2), and as at 25 August 2026 nothing has been published about the year's volume being exhausted or about any intake stop.
Since the switch to the committee model in January 2026, Medienboard has published the number of submissions and the amount applied for at every session — which for the first time makes the success rate reliably estimable. First session of 2026 (decision 19 January 2026): 49 applications requesting €14.2m, with 20 production and development projects funded at more than €5.8m. Second session (20 April 2026): 68 projects, 14 of them documentaries, requesting €16.7m; 25 projects were funded with more than €5.6m, among them 19 production projects, 11 of which had female directors.
Third session (2 July 2026): 65 projects requesting €14.3m; 18 projects were funded with €4.3m. For production funding this session gives the clearest figure: „Von den 43 eingereichten Produktionsvorhaben werden 12 Projekte mit 4,15 Mio. Euro gefördert, 3 davon mit weiblicher Regie mit 1,48 Mio. Euro.“ — 12 of 43 production applications funded with €4.15m, three of them with female directors accounting for €1.48m. That is one award for a little under four applications, and the amount granted is about a third of the amount requested.
Submitting early brings no advantage within a window, because all applications go to the same session; what matters is completeness and the advisory call that precedes it. Note too that a project may normally be submitted only once in the same funding category, so a second attempt is not envisaged. Finally, relevant to the market situation: the FFA closed DFFF I intake for projects shooting in 2026 on 20 August 2026 because the intended application volume of €30m had been reached; applications for 2027 shooting starts are expected from November.
That this increases pressure on Land funding is an expectation, not a published fact as at 25 August 2026.
The stages before and after sit inside the same Förderrichtlinie: Stoff- und Projektentwicklung (story and project development) under clause 2.1, which shares this schedule and the same 20 October 2026 submission date and whose loan falls due at the start of shooting; Verleihförderung (distribution funding) under clause 2.4, worth up to 50% of evidenced distribution costs and running on its own schedule — the next application deadline there is 8 September 2026; and Nachwuchsförderung (emerging talent funding) under clause 2.3, which supports graduation films by students of the dffb and the Filmuniversität Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF as grants, debut films as conditionally repayable loans and short films as a rule as grants. If you do not meet the access conditions of this funding area there are three realistic routes: develop the material through Stoff- und Projektentwicklung first; if you are a student at one of the two Berlin-Brandenburg film schools, go through Nachwuchsförderung; or co-produce the project with a production company, which then becomes the applicant. One notable alternative is „Digitale Film-Produktion“: it supports the digital production of feature-length fiction or animated films and serial formats in Berlin, but is built differently — the applicants are the service companies engaged by the production, with their company seat or a registered branch in Berlin, and the support is normally a grant of at most 25% of the eligible costs arising in Berlin, capped at €1m, with those costs having to be at least €500,000; it accounted for 12 awards totalling €4,845,965.71 in 2026 up to 25 August 2026. Beyond Land funding stand the federal DFFF I, whose intake for projects shooting in 2026 the FFA closed on 20 August 2026, and the production funding of FFF Bayern and the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW; cumulation is possible under Article 8 GBER and is limited by the aid intensity rule in clause 3.1.4.
These notes stay in German on purpose: they quote the conflicting sources word for word, and a caveat is the first thing lost in translation.
01Bedeutung der 3 Mio. € in Ziffer 3.7.3: Der Satz lautet „Eine Einzelförderung eines Vorhabens auf Grundlage dieser Förderrichtlinie ist auf maximal 3 Mio. Euro der förderfähigen Ausgaben begrenzt“ und begrenzt damit nach seinem Wortlaut die Ausgabenbasis, nicht die Fördersumme. Zusammen mit der Beihilfeintensität nach Ziffer 3.1.4 (in der Regel 50 %) ergäbe das eine Förderung von höchstens 1,5 Mio. €. Weder die Förderrichtlinie noch das Merkblatt PRODUKTION VON FILMEN nennen für die Produktion einen eigenen Höchstbetrag; der Datensatz führt deshalb keine Obergrenze. Die höchste beobachtete Zusage liegt bei 900.000 €. Ob das Medienboard die Klausel intern als Kappungsgrenze der Fördersumme oder als Grenze der berücksichtigungsfähigen Ausgaben liest, ist nicht veröffentlicht und im Antragsgespräch zu klären. Folge für die Anzeige, die im Blick zu behalten ist: Die Listenzeile zeigt dadurch „ohne Obergrenze“ – damit ist das Feld amountLabel die einzige Fläche, die die tatsächliche Größenordnung der Förderung (Median 250.000 €, höchste Zusage 900.000 €) und die Darlehensnatur trägt. Änderungen an diesem Feld sind entsprechend zu prüfen.
02amountRate ist bewusst nicht gesetzt. Das Medienboard veröffentlicht für die Produktionsförderung keinen eigenen Fördersatz. Die 50 % aus Ziffer 2.2.5 sind der Eigenanteil, die 50 / 60 / 100 % aus Ziffer 3.1.4 sind die kumulierte Beihilfeintensität aller öffentlichen Förderungen – beides wäre als Fördersatz des Medienboard falsch. Sollte das Medienboard einen Satz veröffentlichen, ist amountRate nachzutragen.
03Bezugsgröße des Eigenanteils: Ziffer 2.2.5 der Förderrichtlinie nennt „50 % des deutschen Finanzierungsanteils“; das Merkblatt EIGENANTEIL I.1 nennt „50 % der Herstellungskosten oder bei internationalen Gemeinschaftsproduktionen 50 % des deutschen Finanzierungsanteils“. Beide sind Quellen des Förderers; der Datensatz folgt der Richtlinie als höherrangiger Quelle und weist die Divergenz zusätzlich in eligibilityDe/En aus. Im Antragsgespräch zu klären, weil sich bei internationalen Koproduktionen zwei völlig verschiedene Zahlen ergeben.
Amounts repaid can be re-issued by Medienboard within three years of the start of repayment as an Erfolgsdarlehen (a success loan) for a new project (clause 2.2.8).
05Eigenanteil: applicants should as a rule provide 50% of the German financing share as their own contribution (clause 2.2.5). Take care with international co-productions: the Merkblatt EIGENANTEIL I.1 gives the reference figure as „50% der Herstellungskosten oder bei internationalen Gemeinschaftsproduktionen 50% des deutschen Finanzierungsanteils“ — 50% of the production costs, or 50% of the German financing share for international co-productions; this record follows the guideline as the higher-ranking source, and which reference figure applies in a given case should be settled in the advisory call. For cross-border or difficult audiovisual works the Eigenanteil may be reduced, but should be at least 30% for feature-length fiction films (Merkblatt PRODUKTION VON FILMEN, Finanzierung no. 1); the Merkblatt EIGENANTEIL likewise names a minimum of 30% for the production funding of theatrical films. It may be made up of own funds, borrowed funds such as unconditionally repayable third-party loans and gap financing, deferred own and third-party services, contributions in kind, distribution and sales guarantees, licences, crowdfunding and crowdinvestment, Referenzmittel (reference funds earned by a previous film) and prize money, and EU funding. Not every one of those positions can be recouped ahead of the loan: reference funds, prize money, funded distribution guarantees, broadcasters' licence and co-production shares, third-party grants carrying no revenue claim, and contributions and benefits in kind from higher-education institutions are expressly excluded from priority recoupment (Merkblatt EIGENANTEIL, III.3).
06Regionaleffekt: the Regionaleffekt is the amount of the recognised production costs that is spent in Berlin and Brandenburg. At least the funds awarded by Medienboard must be spent in Berlin-Brandenburg; reducing the Regionaleffekt stated in the application requires Medienboard's consent. Medienboard may waive it in whole or in part where the region has a particular interest in the project. Independently of the Regionaleffekt, at least 20% of the production costs may be spent in another EU member state — that is a permission, not a requirement (clause 3.3; the wording is „Land der Europäischen Gemeinschaft“). The Regionaleffekt must be shown in euros, in detail and in every line of the total costs, in the standard industry budget format.
07What counts towards the Regionaleffekt turns on the invoicing party's seat, not on the shooting location: where invoices come from companies with their company seat or a branch entered in the commercial register in Berlin or Brandenburg and the service is performed in Berlin or Brandenburg, a Berlin-Brandenburg effect is in principle taken to arise. Per diems and expenses count where they are paid in cash in the region or transferred to the account of employees resident in Berlin-Brandenburg — the principle of principal residence — even where shooting takes place elsewhere. Hotel invoices count only for a hotel based in Berlin or Brandenburg, insurance costs only where the policy is taken out with a company based there, and financing costs only where the account-holding branch of the bank is based there. Production overheads count only where the applying company's seat is in Berlin or Brandenburg. Where an agency invoices for performers or writers, a full effect arises only if both the person and the agency are based in the region; otherwise the agency's fee may be recognised pro rata (Merkblatt Regionaleffekt, version of 6 March 2024).
08No early Maßnahmebeginn — and what is meant is physical production, not work on the material: production, and in particular shooting, must in principle not begin before the funding decision, and must not have begun at the time of application. Story development, the screenplay, acquiring the rights and raising the financing are not caught by this — on the contrary, they are preconditions of applying, as the document list shows (screenplay, evidence of the underlying rights, proof of exploitation). Where the line falls in a given case — for preparatory services already commissioned, say, or for location scouting — should be settled in the advisory call. In specially justified exceptional cases Medienboard may consent to an Antrag auf vorzeitigen Maßnahmebeginn (an application for consent to start work early); that creates no entitlement to funding, and the financial risk lies with the applicant alone (clause 3.2.3, Merkblatt Allgemeine Grundsätze no. 2).
09No legal entitlement: awards can be made only within the trust fund Medienboard administers, and there is no legal entitlement to funding (clause 3.1.2). Only one application per applicant, person or company, is admissible per funding session, and a project may normally be submitted only once in a given funding category (Merkblatt, Antragstellung no. 2).
10Cumulation and aid intensity: Medienboard funds may be cumulated with funds from other bodies in accordance with Article 8 GBER — the EU General Block Exemption Regulation, cited in the guideline as AGVO (clause 3.1.3, Merkblatt Allgemeine Grundsätze no. 6). Aid intensity must not exceed 50% of the eligible costs; it rises to 60% for cross-border productions financed by more than one member state and involving producers from more than one member state, and to 100% for difficult audiovisual works. Difficult works are short films, first and second films by a director, documentaries, children's and youth films, experimental films, low-budget productions and other commercially difficult works (clause 3.1.4). Where a previously funded screenplay is filmed, the costs of preparing the production go into the total budget and are taken into account for aid intensity — unless the development funding has been repaid in full by the start of shooting at the latest (clause 3.1.3).
11Content reservation: projects are not funded where the expected work would breach the constitution or the law, infringe personality rights or offend moral or religious feeling, or where its content is pornographic, glorifies violence or is harmful to minors within the meaning of §§ 131, 184 of the German Criminal Code (clause 3.1.1).
12Excluded are undertakings that have not complied with a European Commission recovery order, and undertakings in difficulty under Article 2 no. 18 GBER; undertakings that were not in difficulty on 31 December 2019 but became so between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2021 do not count as undertakings in difficulty (clause 3.7.5). Medienboard provides its own guidance sheet and declaration form for this.
13Social standards as a condition of funding: Medienboard's programme page states expressly „Safer Sets! Die Einhaltung des Respect Code Film gegen sexualisierte Belästigung, Gewalt und Diskriminierung an Filmsets ist Fördervoraussetzung.“ — compliance with the Respect Code Film against sexualised harassment, violence and discrimination on film sets is a condition of funding; the Merkblatt PRODUKTION VON FILMEN names the Respect Code Film expressly as well (Soziale und ökologische Standards no. 1). In addition, a balanced ratio of women and men among the filmmakers involved is to be aimed at, fair working conditions are to be achieved through industry collective agreements or comparable social standards and at least in compliance with the Mindestlohngesetz (the minimum wage act), and vocational training and continuing education are to be taken into account to a reasonable extent (clause 3.1.7, Merkblatt Soziale und ökologische Standards no. 1).
14Ecological standards: funded films must comply with the „Ökologische Standards für deutsche Kino-, TV- und Online-/VoD-Produktionen“ (the binding ecological production standards). Compliance is assessed on the basis of the „Allgemeiner Abschlussbericht Ökologische Standards“, and the evidence must be supplied to the ILB with the final report (Merkblatt, Soziale und ökologische Standards no. 2). Consultancy costs for green filming may be budgeted, as may costs for confidential advisers, intimacy coordination and childcare on set.
15The points that follow are not access conditions but contractual and exploitation obligations. They already affect the budget and the financing plan, and if funding is committed they become part of the loan contract with the ILB.
16After the commitment, not an access condition — budget caps: for theatrical projects up to €5m, Handlungskosten (production overheads) are recognised at up to 10% of the Fertigungskosten (below-the-line costs), and at up to 5% for projects above €5m; they are capped at €650,000. Where production costs exceed €500,000, a producer's fee of up to 5% of production costs and at most €250,000 is recognised; the rules of the FFG and the guidelines issued under it apply accordingly. A contingency reserve of up to 8% of the Fertigungskosten may be budgeted. The net principle applies: amounts before taxes and other levies are used for the calculation. Costs for capital assets that pass to the production company at the end of the project can as a rule not be recognised as production costs. Own goods and services and own labour that are paid for rather than deferred or contributed in kind should be shown explicitly in the budget. For international co-productions each country's financing share of the production costs must be shown separately; where a contract with a broadcaster shows no separate co-production share net of VAT, the broadcaster's entire financing contribution is treated as a licence.
17After the commitment, not an access condition — accessibility: an accessible version of the funded project must be produced in German. Exceptions may be allowed case by case; where the federal funders FFA/BKM are involved in a project, Medienboard follows their decision (Merkblatt, Allgemeine Grundsätze no. 7).
18After the commitment, not an access condition — credits, première and archive copies: the funding must be credited in the opening or closing credits and on all advertising material by use of the Medienboard word-and-figure mark (clause 3.6.1, Merkblatt no. 8). The première of funded theatrical films should take place in Berlin or Brandenburg where Medienboard has made the largest financing contribution among the participating German Land funders (clause 2.2.9, Merkblatt no. 9). After completion, an archivable copy must be transferred free of charge to Medienboard and to the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek; where a copy is supplied to the Bundesarchiv on account of other public funding, a digital copy to the Kinemathek suffices (clause 2.2.12, Merkblatt no. 10). The borrower must also grant Medienboard a free, unlimited (in time and territory), non-exclusive right to use the project, photographs, stills, posters, making-of material and trailers for its own non-commercial promotion (clause 3.6.2).
19After the commitment, not an access condition — holdback periods: the holdback periods set out in the FFG as a rule apply to the exploitation of funded theatrical films. In justified cases Medienboard may allow exceptions on application; where an application to shorten a holdback is granted by the FFA, Medienboard follows that decision (clause 2.2.10, Merkblatt no. 11).
20After the commitment, not an access condition — repayment and reporting: the loan must be repaid out of all domestic and foreign exploitation revenues; once the recognised Eigenanteil has been recouped first, as a rule 50% of the revenues flowing to the producer must be applied. Where other funding bodies are involved, a pro rata repayment in proportion to the loans granted is normally agreed; a lower priority for the Eigenanteil, a repayment corridor or a longer repayment period agreed with another body applies to the Medienboard loan as well. The repayment obligation normally ends ten years after the theatrical release. Distribution and sales contracts may as a rule only provide for expenses and commissions in line with the FFG rules. The first revenue statement must be filed with the ILB unprompted three months after exploitation begins, then half-yearly for two years as at 30 June and 31 December, and annually as at 31 December for the remaining term (Merkblatt, Rückzahlung; clauses 2.2.6 and 2.2.7).
21After the commitment, not an access condition — final accounting: the Verwendungsnachweis (proof of use of funds) must be filed with the ILB no later than six months after completion of the film — the answer print or DCDM, that is the first finished print or the digital cinema master. For international co-productions the foreign costs and financing components must be certified by auditors (Merkblatt, Verwendungsnachweis). The final 5% instalment is paid only once the audit report confirms that the recognised production costs or German financing share have not been undercut, that the Regionaleffekt has not been undercut, that the ecological standards have been complied with, and that there is no over-financing.
22After the commitment, not an access condition — subsidy-relevant statements: Medienboard awards state aid. The statements in the application and in the supplementary documents filed are subventionserheblich (subsidy-relevant) within the meaning of § 264 of the German Criminal Code — false statements can amount to the criminal offence of subsidy fraud (clause 3.8.2). Information on every individual aid of more than €100,000 is published on the European Commission's state aid transparency website (clause 3.7.3).
06A detailed budget showing the Regionaleffekt separately. The Regionaleffekt must be shown in euros in every line of the total costs in the standard industry budget format; the ILB handling fee of 3% of the loan applied for must also be budgeted.
07A financing plan including evidence of the individual financing components. Where other funding bodies are involved, a financing plan agreed with all participating bodies must be submitted (Merkblatt EIGENANTEIL, II.2).
08Crew and cast lists.
09Producer's notes and director's notes.
10Proof of exploitation, for example the contract securing the commercial exploitation of the film. Whether a letter of intent suffices or a signed contract is required is not conclusively settled and should be settled in the advisory call — it decides whether this submission window or the next one is realistic.
11Where applicable, evidence of rights reversion: that the exploitation contract with a public-service broadcaster or a private broadcaster provides for the television usage rights to revert to the producer in line with the rules of the FFG.
12A recoupment plan setting out how revenues from the producer's net share — the share of revenue that reaches the production after distribution and sales commissions — are distributed until the loan is repaid in full.
13Declarations by the applicant on the applicability of industry collective agreements or on compliance with comparable social standards and with the Mindestlohngesetz (minimum wage act), on undertakings in difficulty, and on the use of artificial intelligence. The AI declaration is therefore a fixed part of the application documents, not something that arises only at acceptance.
14A copy of the commercial register extract with the list of shareholders — for partnerships, alternatively a GbR partnership agreement (Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts) or a business registration — together with a current annual financial statement including the profit and loss account.
15A calculation of the CO2 emissions the production is expected to cause, using a CO2 calculator, together with the self-declaration of the management and the production manager on compliance with the „Ökologische Standards für deutsche Kino-, TV- und Online-/VoD-Produktionen“.
16Where applicable, a reasoned Antrag auf vorzeitigen Maßnahmebeginn — an application for consent to start work (the start of shooting) before the decision.
17After the commitment, not before: the total financing must be evidenced within a maximum of six months of the funding commitment being issued, otherwise it lapses; the period can be extended on request (clause 3.4.3). Only then do the funding contract and the first payment follow.
First committee funding session of 2027The five-member film funding committee decides: four rotating film and cinema experts covering creative work, production/financing, exploitation and broadcasters, plus the managing director of the film funding arm. Just under three months separate the submission date from the decision. Medienboard publishes the number of submissions, the amount applied for and the full award list for every session.
Within six months of the funding commitmentEvidence of the total financingA positive decision produces a written funding commitment (clause 3.4.2). It lapses unless the total financing of the project is evidenced within a maximum of six months of it being issued; the period can be extended on request (clause 3.4.3). Payment requires that evidence and the conclusion of the funding contract (clause 3.5.1).
From signature of the contract to the rough cutPayment in five instalments by the ILBAfter the funding commitment the award is administered by the Investitionsbank des Landes Brandenburg. Payment is normally made in five instalments against evidenced progress: 30% on signature of the contract and once all conditions for drawing the money down are met, 35% at the start of shooting, 20% at the end of shooting and 10% after Medienboard accepts the rough cut. The ILB handling fee of 3% is withheld when the first instalment is paid. The start of shooting and the release date must be notified to Medienboard and the ILB without delay.
No later than six months after completionFinal accounting and closing instalmentThe final accounting must be filed with the ILB no later than six months after completion of the film — the answer print or DCDM, that is the first finished print or the digital cinema master. The last instalment of 5% of the award is paid only after the closing audit, once the audit report confirms that the recognised production costs or German financing share and the Regionaleffekt have not been undercut, that the ecological standards have been complied with, and that there is no over-financing. For international co-productions the foreign costs and financing components must be certified by auditors.
From the start of exploitation, normally until ten years after the theatrical releaseRepayment and revenue statementsThe first revenue statement must be filed with the ILB unprompted three months after exploitation begins, then half-yearly as at 30 June and 31 December for the following two years, and annually as at 31 December thereafter. Repayment comes out of all domestic and foreign exploitation revenues: once the recognised Eigenanteil has been recouped first, from as a rule 50% of the revenues received. Where the loan is repaid in whole or in part, Medienboard may re-issue the repaid amount as an Erfolgsdarlehen (success loan) for a new project within three years of the start of repayment.
04Zwei parallel verlinkte Fassungen des Merkblatts EIGENANTEIL (2023_08_02 im Block Produktion Kinofilme, 2024_03_11 in allen anderen Blöcken). Inhaltlich identisch geprüft am 25.08.2026; bei der nächsten Prüfung erneut abgleichen, falls eine der beiden fortgeschrieben wird.
05Form des Auswertungsnachweises: Ziffer 2.2.3 verlangt „in der Regel“ einen Vertrag, durch den die gewerbliche Auswertung sichergestellt wird; das Merkblatt nennt ihn in der Unterlagenliste „zum Beispiel“. Ob eine Absichtserklärung (Letter of Intent) eines Verleihs oder Weltvertriebs genügt oder ein unterzeichneter Vertrag verlangt wird, ist in Richtlinie und Merkblatt nicht geregelt. Der Datensatz stellt die Frage in beiden Sprachen als offen dar. Beim Medienboard zu erfragen – davon hängt ab, ob ein Projekt im laufenden oder erst im nächsten Einreichfenster antragsreif ist.
06Vereinbarung des Antragsgesprächs: Das Medienboard weist für die Produktionsförderung neun Förderreferate aus, alle mit dem Aufgabenbereich „Produktionsförderung“, ohne eine Zuordnung nach Budgethöhe oder Genre zu veröffentlichen – anders als etwa der FFF Bayern. Ein Buchungsweg (Formular, Kalender, Kontaktadresse für Terminanfragen) ist ebenfalls nicht veröffentlicht. Der Datensatz nennt deshalb die Leitung Filmförderung als Erstkontakt. Beim Medienboard zu erfragen und nachzutragen, sobald ein Weg veröffentlicht ist; bei Personalwechseln sind die im Datensatz genannten Namen zu aktualisieren.
07Abgrenzung der Zusagenkategorie „Film Produktion“: Die veröffentlichte Kategorie ist breiter als dieses Merkblatt. 2025 enthielt sie zwölf als Experimentalfilm ausgewiesene Zusagen zwischen 10.000 € und 25.000 €, die über den eigenen Terminstrang Kurz- und Experimentalfilme laufen. Die im Datensatz genannte Spanne 2026 von 40.000 € bis 900.000 € enthält keine Experimentalfilme, weil die Fördersitzung Kurz- und Experimentalfilme 2026 erst am 14.10.2026 tagt. Nach dieser Sitzung sind Spanne und Median für 2026 erneut zu berechnen, sonst verschieben sich die Zahlen ohne inhaltlichen Grund nach unten – und mit ihnen die einzige Größenangabe, die die Listenzeile trägt.
08Vorbehalt bei den Terminen: Die Seite „Einreichtermine“ ist mit „Deadlines Filmförderung 2026/27 (unter Vorbehalt)“ überschrieben. Der Vorbehalt gilt nach dem Wortlaut für die gesamte Tabelle, also für die Antragsdeadline 20.10.2026 ebenso wie für den Gesprächstermin 06.10.2026. Der Datensatz führt den Termin dennoch als confirmed, weil er vom Medienboard selbst veröffentlicht ist; vor einer Planung ist er kurzfristig erneut zu prüfen.
09Verhältnis von date und Antragsgespräch: date und deadline.date führen den Einreichtermin 20.10.2026, weil das die vom Förderer veröffentlichte Antragsfrist ist. Der praktisch bindende Termin ist der 06.10.2026; der Countdown der Listenzeile rechnet daher auf ein Datum, das rund zwei Wochen nach dem Termin liegt, an dem die Handlungsfähigkeit endet. Der Datensatz führt das Gespräch deshalb an erster Stelle in deadline.labelDe/En und statusDe/En sowie in timeline[0]. Ein eigenes Feld für vorgeschaltete Pflichttermine wäre die saubere Lösung und betrifft alle Förderungen mit verpflichtendem Antragsgespräch – als Schemafrage an die Projektleitung.
10Uhrzeit des Antragsschlusses: Weder das Merkblatt noch die Seite „Einreichtermine“ nennen für den 20.10.2026 eine Uhrzeit; das Merkblatt verlangt nur eine fristgerechte digitale Einreichung. Ob das Portal um 24:00 Uhr schließt oder zu Dienstschluss, ist nicht veröffentlicht und im Antragsgespräch zu klären.
11Geltungsdauer der Förderrichtlinie: Sie ist am 01.01.2024 in Kraft getreten und tritt mit Ablauf des 30.06.2027 außer Kraft (Ziffer 4). Eine Nachfolgefassung ist am 25.08.2026 nicht veröffentlicht. Für den Antrag zum 20.10.2026 und die Entscheidung am 12./13.01.2027 ist das ohne Folgen; für die Termine ab dem 06.07.2027 und für die mehrjährige Abwicklung ist offen, welche Fassung gilt. Sobald eine Nachfolgefassung erscheint, sind Förderhöhe, Eigenanteil, Regionaleffekt und die Eligibility-Einträge zu prüfen.
12Verhältnis von Ziffer 3.2.1 zur Praxis: Die Richtlinie verlangt Geschäftssitz, Niederlassung oder Betriebsstätte in Berlin-Brandenburg zum Zeitpunkt der Auszahlung und lässt eine Ausnahme bei besonderem Regionalinteresse zu. In der Zusagenliste 2026 stehen Firmen aus München, Hamburg, Köln, Leipzig, Mühlenberge und Potsdam. Ob diese Zusagen auf einer Betriebsstätte oder auf der Ausnahme beruhen, ist aus der Liste nicht ableitbar; der Datensatz stellt beide Wege dar, ohne einen von ihnen als Regelfall zu bezeichnen. Beim Medienboard zu erfragen, weil davon abhängt, ob eine Firma ohne Regionalbezug realistisch antragsberechtigt ist.
13Regionen-Zuordnung: Der Datensatz führt regions als [berlin, brandenburg] und folgt damit dem Schwesterdatensatz medienboard-stoffentwicklung. „bundesweit“ wurde bewusst nicht gesetzt, weil die Förderung an eine Betriebsstätte in Berlin-Brandenburg zum Auszahlungszeitpunkt und an den Regionaleffekt gebunden ist – trotz der überregionalen Antragstellenden in der Zusagenliste. Falls sich die Auslegung von Ziffer 3.2.1 als deutlich offener erweist, ist die Zuordnung erneut zu bewerten.
14Format animationsfilm: belegt, aber schwach. Die Zusagenliste 2026 führt unter „Film Produktion“ das Projekt „Petronella Apfelmus“ mit dem Genre „Animation“ und 300.000 €. Weder Ziffer 2.2 noch das Merkblatt nennen Animation ausdrücklich; die Regelung ist formatneutral und stellt nur auf programmfüllende Filme ab. Bei der nächsten Prüfung ist zu beobachten, ob weitere Animationskinofilme in dieser Kategorie erscheinen.
15Antragsportal: Eine öffentliche URL des Online-Antragsportals veröffentlicht das Medienboard nicht; der Zugang wird erst nach dem Antragsgespräch freigeschaltet. applyUrl verweist deshalb auf die Förderseite, nicht auf ein Portal. Falls das Medienboard eine öffentliche Portaladresse veröffentlicht, ist sie nachzutragen.
16Jahresbudget: Das Medienboard veröffentlicht keine Budgetzahl für die Filmförderung 2026 oder 2027 und keine Aufschlüsselung der Zuwendungen der Länder Berlin und Brandenburg. Der Datensatz nennt deshalb nur die Summen der veröffentlichten Förderentscheidungen; die Zahl für 2026 ist ein Zwischenstand zum 25.08.2026 und nicht mit dem Gesamtjahr 2025 vergleichbar. Beim nächsten Tätigkeitsbericht nachzutragen.
17Vergleich mit FFF Bayern und NRW: Die genannten 43,1 Mio. € (FFF Bayern 2025) und 38,2 Mio. € (Film- und Medienstiftung NRW 2025) sind Gesamtvolumina einschließlich Games-, Standort- und sonstiger Förderung, die hier genannten Medienboard-Zahlen dagegen nur die Filmförderung. Der Datensatz weist das aus; ein direkter Größenvergleich der drei Fonds ist auf dieser Grundlage nicht möglich.
18Auswirkungen des DFFF-Antragsstopps: Dass die FFA die DFFF-I-Antragsannahme für Projekte mit Drehbeginn 2026 am 20.08.2026 geschlossen hat, weil das vorgesehene Antragsvolumen von 30 Mio. € erreicht war, ist belegt; dass dadurch der Andrang bei der Länderförderung steigt, ist eine Erwartung und keine veröffentlichte Tatsache. Der Datensatz kennzeichnet sie in context.competitionDe/En ausdrücklich als solche. Nach der Sitzung am 12./13.01.2027 ist zu prüfen, ob Einreichzahlen oder Antragssummen auffällig gestiegen sind.
19Erfolgsquote der Produktionsförderung: Die Quote von 12 Zusagen auf 43 eingereichte Produktionsvorhaben stammt aus einer einzigen Sitzung (02.07.2026). Für die 1. und 2. Sitzung 2026 veröffentlicht das Medienboard die Zahl der Einreichungen nur insgesamt, nicht getrennt nach Produktion und Entwicklung. Eine über das Jahr gemittelte Quote lässt sich daraus nicht belastbar bilden; der Datensatz nennt deshalb die Sitzungswerte einzeln.
Only the funder's guideline in its currently valid version and the institution's own statements are binding. This page summarises; it replaces neither the guideline nor the advisory call.