Sørfond

Who may apply

• Private independent production companies in Norway, with audio-visual productions as their main activity. 
• The company may not be predominantly publicly owned or closely linked to a broadcasting organization.
• 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 (in Norwegian: Foretaksregisteret)
• The applicant company must be the Norwegian minority producer.

What may you apply for

• You may apply for top financing for the co-production of fiction film and documentary film. 

Terms and conditions for the grant

• 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 must be 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.

Assessment of the applications

• 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).

More information about the scheme