National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) management recommended funding across the usual range of programmes and projects at the NFVF Council meeting held on 2 September. What was unusual at this sitting of Council was management’s recommendation for the funding of 6 feature scripts in development, 7 feature films for production and 4 documentaries for production.
It is unprecedented in the history of the NFVF that seven feature films and four documentaries that have previously been funded in development would be recommended for production in the same sitting of Council. This is seen as a successful outcome to a rigorous development process initiated by the NFVF over the past three years which involved script editors assigned to every promising feature concept or project and a hands-on development process for all documentaries.
However, only five of these feature projects can be funded out of this year’s budget, while the remaining two will be rolled over for reconsideration in the new financial year, commencing 1 April 2011. This means that while the NFVF will continue to accept new projects for production funding, these projects will only be considered for financing in the new financial year. All applications for narrative fiction production funding will be affected, including short films and feature films. A limited number of documentary applications for production may still be considered in the present financial year.
Funding support for development has not been affected.
This development clearly demonstrates the need for The National Film and Video Foundation has called for additional financial resources to be allocated by government in order for it to fulfil its mandate of industry development and support. “The NFVF regrets to bring this news to the industry already crippled by the ongoing funding crisis and already so deep into the year.’
