Bundesportal | Apply for federal film funding for the distribution of cinema films

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Publisher

The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM)

Last update or date of publication

December 11, 2025

Contact

The government service telephone number 115 – your point of contact for questions related to the federal, state and local.

Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 18:00 (and beyond these times in some regions).

Call 115 now

Government service telephone number calls are charged at local rates.

As a commercial film distributor, you can apply for federal film funding if you are distributing an artistically ambitious film. The funding is awarded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM).

You can receive a grant of up to EUR 100,000 for your film.

In order for the distribution to be funded, the film must have been predominantly financed in German.

Online application (incl. viewing link)
Attachments to the application:
- Financing plan
- Calculation
- Release concept
- Lending contract
- BAFA certificate
Confirmation of compliance with the blocking periods

Antrag auf vorzeitigen Maßnahmenbeginn

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Preconditions

To be able to submit an application, you must

be a commercial film distributor. In exceptional cases, self-distribution is possible.
a place of residence or business in Germany or

have a branch in Germany with a place of residence or business in another EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland.

the film is artistically ambitious and meets the funding objectives of the BKM's cultural film funding guidelines;
the films must have a significant German cultural influence;
the minimum length for feature films and documentaries is 79 minutes, for children's films it is 59 minutes;
They must contribute at least 30 percent of the production costs;
You must observe the blocking periods according to the German Film Funding Act (FFG);

There are no costs.

Basis for legal action

§§ 18 bis 19 Richtlinie für die kulturelle Filmförderung (FFR) des Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (BKM)

Legal Remedies

Action before the administrative court

Procedure

You must submit the application for distribution funding online to the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM).

Apply for funding online:

Go to the website of the federal portal verwaltung.bund.de and fill out the application form electronically.
- You will need your ELSTER organization certificate for the online application
Upload the required documents as a file (in PDF format, maximum 10 megabytes per file) and submit the application.

Further procedural steps:

The Distribution Funding jury reviews the applications and proposes projects for funding.
After the funding meeting, the administrative processing of the funding takes place via the German Federal Film Board, which checks your application documents.
If the requirements for funding are met, you will receive a grant notification from the German Federal Film Board.
Work on the project may not begin before you receive the grant notification. In justified exceptional cases, an application for an early start can be submitted. Please use the form on the BKM website.

If approved: after the first public screening of the film, you must send a copy to the Federal Archive, unless this obligation has already been fulfilled elsewhere.

Deadlines

The submission deadlines are published on the website of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) under the heading Deadlines.

Processing time

Approximately 12 weeks after the jury meeting, the Film Funding Agency issues the grant notification. The processing time varies depending on the completeness of the documents.