The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), the federal states and the German Federal Film Board (FFA) promote the preservation of national film heritage.

As a rule, you can receive funding of up to EUR 40,000 for the following measures:

• Digitization of short or feature-length films
  • of particular film-historical significance or
  • documentary value or
  • artistic value.

Your need for digitization must fit into one of the following categories:

• Evaluation interest:
  • You are pursuing an economic interest, for example via
    • theatrical exploitation,
    • festival exploitation,
    • DVD,
    • Blu-ray,
    • video on demand or
    • television.
  • curatorial interest:
    • You are planning digitization from a film history perspective, for example for a film museum.
  • Conservation interest:
    • They are planning digitization because the analogue film material is endangered.

Eligible costs are:

• Digitization and restoration costs:
  • project-related personnel expenses,
  • project-related material costs for digitization and restoration
  • other project-related costs:
    • Travel expenses
    • transportation
    • lending fees
  • Project-related handling costs up to 7.5 percent

The grant is paid out on request:

• 80 percent for eligible expenses that you must incur within 6 weeks.
• In addition, 20 percent of the funding will only be paid out after evaluation interest
  • submission of the proof of use,
  • Confirmation of storage by the Federal Archives and
  • confirmation of the documentation of the documents submitted to the film portal.

In order to receive funding, you must prove what you have spent the money on. You must keep all invoices and receipts relating to the eligible costs.

You are not entitled to the grant.

You submit your application online to the German Federal Film Board (FFA).