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MOSCOW — The size of state subsidies to Russian filmmakers is set to double by 2017, but the proportion of repayable subsidies is set to go up as well.
The Russian government expects to achieve an increase by stepping up the proportion of repayable subsidies, with cash being reinvested in the film industry.
Since the state funding system was reformed in early 2013, the main emphasis has been on shifting from nonrepayable subsidies to schemes under which producers would pay back the government.
The culture ministry expects $22.9 million (760 million rubles) — out of $156.9 million (5.2 billion rubles) disbursed to filmmakers last year — to be repaid, says culture minister Vladimir Medinsky, according to Gazeta.ru.
This year, the amount of state cash to be paid back is expected to be $36.2 million (1.2 billion rubles), and this figure is set to go up over the next few years, doubling the total amount of state cash available to local filmmakers by 2017.
In 2014, the total amount of government funding for the film industry is to stand at last year’s figure plus cash repaid by the producers, totaling $180 million (5.96 billion rubles).
According to Medinsky, in 2014, 60 percent of the state cash is to be administered by the Cinema fund and the remainder by the culture ministry. However, since last year’s reforms, the role of the cinema fund in making decisions about which projects are to receive funding has been significantly reduced, and all major decisions are believed to be made by the culture ministry.
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