Yes, as long as you keep limits on the use of public funds specified in the Act. The maximum share of public funds together with the amount of support from the incentive scheme may not exceed: a) 50% in the case of national or international co-production in which co-producers from outside the European Union and Member States of the European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) participate; b) 60% in the case of an international co-production, in which one of the countries of origin of producers or co-producers of an audiovisual work is the Republic of Poland, and other producers or co-producers of an audiovisual work come from other European Union Member States or from Member States of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area; c) 70% in the case of a difficult work which has limited commercial value because it is directed at children under 12 years of age; d) 70% in the case of a difficult work, which has limited commercial value by promoting Polish historical or cultural heritage in the world and at the same time the Polish eligible costs of its production exceed at least twice the minimum values ​​of Polish eligible costs entitling to submit the application.

No, the number of shooting days carried out in Poland is one of the criteria for the qualification test, but there is no minimum required number.

Yes, but financial support can only be granted once per season, i.e. you will not be able to apply for support for the rest of the season.

Yes, Polish co-production can be reimbursed if it meets all the criteria required by the Act on the financial support of audiovisual production and the regulation of the Minister of Culture.

Yes, the support limit for one applicant is PLN 20 million in a calendar year. This means that if an entrepreneur applies for support for more than one project, support for all its production in total cannot exceed PLN 20 million in a calendar year.

Yes, the limit is PLN 15 million for one audiovisual work.

The thresholds for minimum expenses depend on the type of production and the agreement specifying the conditions for the production of the work - a co-production or audiovisual service is possible. The value of Polish eligible costs must exceed the values indicated in the table below.

Yes, only productions with specific runtime are eligible for reimbursement:

• feature film - not shorter than 70 minutes;
• series - each episode not shorter than 40 minutes;
• documentary feature - not shorter than 40 minutes;
• documentary series - the season not shorter than 150 minutes;
• animated feature – not shorter than 60 minutes;
• animated series - at least 10 episodes, season not shorter than 50 minutes

Feature films, documentaries and animated films as well as series, animated series and documentary series are eligible for a 30% refund.

The principles, conditions and procedure for granting and accounting for financial support are set out in the Act on financial support for audiovisual production of November 9, 2018, and the Regulation of the Minister of Culture of February 11, 2019 on a detailed list of Polish eligible costs, parameters of audiovisual works and documents related to granting financial support for audiovisual production by the Polish Film Institute and the Act of March 31, 2020 on the amendment to the Act on special solutions related to the prevention, prevention and eradication of COVID-19, other infectious diseases and crisis situations caused by them, as well as certain other acts.

An entrepreneur who is a producer of an audiovisual work, a co-producer of an audiovisual work or an entity providing a service for audiovisual production with achievements and based in Poland. An achievement is at least one production (feature film, documentary film, animated film, series, animated series, or documentary series) distributed in cinemas, broadcast on TV or on VOD or presented at the FIAPF accredited festival and the applicant shall be its producer, co-producer or service provider. The criterion of having appropriate achievements can also be met if the entrepreneur hires a person responsible for production with adequate experience. Before submitting the application, the entrepreneur must conclude a co-production agreement or for the provision of an audiovisual service on the territory of Poland. The entrepreneur must also meet the requirements set out in the provisions on state aid.

Yes, if it is located in another Member State of the European Union or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and has a branch in Poland and this branch is the producer of the work to be reimbursed. The Polish branch of a foreign company must also meet the conditions regarding the relevant achievements, the prior conclusion of the contract and the requirements set out in the public aid regulations, which are described in point 1 above.

No, financial support for a company providing a service for audiovisual production can only be granted if the producer of the audiovisual work or any of the co-producers is not based in Poland.

The act requires that the entrepreneur applying for financial support should have at least one completed and publicly presented feature film, documentary film, animated film or series, documentary series or animated series as producer, co-producer or service provider for audiovisual production or employ a person responsible for production with adequate experience.

No, as part of the audiovisual production support system "incentives" it is not possible to assign the granted support to any other entrepreneur.

No, the Institute grants financial support to an entrepreneur who has contracted to co-produce a work in the territory of the Republic of Poland. It could be a domestic co-production or an international co-production.

Companies of any size can apply for support.

Yes, cultural institution or foundation can apply for a refund of eligible costs.

The financing of the audiovisual work is confirmed by documents that give rise to the parties' obligations, e.g. a co-production agreement, loan agreement, grant agreement, bank statement. Documents that do not confirm funding are e.g. letters of intent and certificates. In the event that the applicant cannot, for justified reasons, submit a contract for the provision of services for audiovisual production, the Director of the Institute may decide to submit to the Institute other documents on the basis of which it will be possible to examine the application.

When submitting a request for support, it is necessary to confirm by attaching documents proving financing both 75% of the costs of the work to be supported and 75% of the total production budget.

The granting of support is determined by the fulfilment of certain conditions: the value of eligible costs, the type of production, the results of the qualification test. Incentives are based on an automatic scheme, which means that there are no experts assessing the artistic value of the project. The application is verified by the Polish Film Institute staff in terms of meeting formal requirements and compliance with the actual state.

Up to 28 calendar days, if the application is submitted correctly.

Yes, the Institute charges a fee for processing the application. The fee is 0.05% of the estimated financial support requested by the applying entrepreneur, however, not more than PLN 1000. If the application is not examined due to the depletion of funds in a given year, the fee will be refunded to the applicant.

No, applications are accepted on a continuous basis throughout the year. The funds are granted in the order of applications.

At the earliest, 12 months, and at the latest on the day of commencement of the works to be financed. It should be noted that this does not always have to be the beginning of the entire production process, e.g. if only post-production is to be covered by financial support, the application must be submitted at the latest before the start of this stage. Example: the entrepreneur plans to start the supported works and thus incur the costs from July 1, 2021, then the first possible deadline for submitting the application is July 1, 2020, and the last possible deadline for submitting the application is June 30, 2021.

No, if the entrepreneur is ready, he can immediately apply for financial support. The certificate is not obligatory.

In order to submit a certificate application, please attach a completed scenario. The application for a certificate should contain the names of the filmmakers (director, screenwriter, cinematographer and composer). There is no need to attach contracts with filmmakers , however, you need to specify the date of concluding the contract with the director.

Up to 28 calendar days.

No, the certificate only confirms the fulfilment of the qualification test criteria.

At any stage of production, but before submitting an application for financial support. The certificate is valid for 4 years.

The Polish Film Institute may consider, as part of "incentives", only one application for a given audiovisual work at a time. If, due to deficiencies or errors, the application is considered negative, you can re-apply for support for the project. If the entrepreneur signs the contract with the Polish Film Institute but does not start the works covered by support within 3 months from the date specified in the contract, the Institute may withdraw from the contract. After withdrawing from the contract, the entrepreneur may submit an application for support regarding the same audiovisual work again only once.

No, only one financial support can be granted for the production of one audiovisual work. In the case of the series, support is granted for each season separately.

Yes, there is no limit to the number of applications submitted; there is only a limit to the total amount of support for one applicant, which cannot exceed PLN 20 million in a calendar year.

No, the application for financial support is submitted in Polish. All documents and attachments to the application should be translated into Polish, including a copy of the co-production contract or service (service) contract and the financing plan together with copies of documents confirming 75% of the total value of funding that must be translated by a sworn translator.

Yes, provided that they work on the project, for which the entrepreneur applies for cash rebate and if the income tax on remuneration is paid in Poland.

The cost is eligible for reimbursement if it is incurred during the period of works covered by the support in accordance with the agreed schedule constituting an annex to the contract between the applicant for support of the entrepreneur and PISF.

Yes, if the income tax on this remuneration is paid in Poland.

Yes, you can get the reimbursement of tickets for an airplane, train, bus or ship if Poland is the starting or ending place of your trip. The entity that provides the transport service must have its registered office or branch in Poland, operate on the territory of Poland and be entered in the relevant register.

No, the eligible costs do not include VAT.

No, the entrepreneur applying for support can only get back the expenses he / she paid himself.

Only costs incurred in the period of supported works declared in the schedule are eligible for settlement.

No, the list of eligible costs for "incentives" is specified in the regulation of the Minister of Culture to the Act on supporting audiovisual production and does not fully cover the catalogue of eligible costs under the PISF Operational Programs.

Amounts of support limits and minimum expenditure thresholds are amounts in Polish zlotys without VAT tax. The Act on supporting audiovisual production excludes a value added tax from Polish eligible costs.

Yes, as long as they are documented, paid in Poland and concern the labour costs of people according to the list specified in the regulation of the Minister of Culture.

As part of the "incentives" only the costs incurred in the place of production other than the headquarters or other business premises of the entrepreneur can be qualified. e.g. the rent for the office will not be an eligible cost, but the rent for a production office dedicated only to the production of a given project constitutes an eligible cost.

No, the report with an updated test shall be submitted after completing the work covered by the support. If the applicant applied for support only for the shooting period, he / she submits the report after completing this stage of work.

In addition to the report and required attachments, the entrepreneur should submit an unused copy of the audiovisual work and the script, editing and dialogue list, photos, posters, list of credits and advertising materials within 30 days after production is completed, but no later than on the day of distribution.

The report submitted after completion of the work covered by the support should contain company data, contact details, production information (title, language, literary basis, planned runtime, genre and type of audiovisual work, name and surname of the director, screenwriter, cinematographer and composer, and indication of whether this is co-production or service and whether production can be classified as difficult), a brief description of each stage of production covered by support, data on costs necessary for verification, data on meeting the criteria of the qualification test, the amount and percentage of public funds, the indication of producers or co-producers. The report shall be accompanied by: a list of eligible costs incurred together with invoices as well as financial documents confirming the payment; confirmation of payment of remuneration and fees and other benefits constituting the labour costs of persons engaged in audiovisual production; a qualification test completed on the basis of current data at the time the report was presented; name list of film crew members along with their functions and information on the number of shooting days / post-production days in Poland.

No, if these costs are to be considered as Polish eligible costs. All obligations must be settled before submitting the final production settlement report to the Polish Film Institute. Documents confirming the settlement of obligations are a required attachment to the report.

Financial support is granted in the amount of 30% of Polish eligible costs, however, the Polish costs which constitute the basis for calculating the support may not exceed 80% of the total audiovisual production costs.