Production application

The purpose of the International Sámi Film Institute (ISFI) is to preserve and promote the Sami film industry. ISFI seek to achieve this by, among other things, provide grants for film development and production, in all genres, and also platform-neutral formats.

The grant is given to stimulate awareness of Sami film and to strengthen professional knowledge of Sami film both among the population and in the film industry.

ISFI shall promote indigenous film and collaboration between different indigenous film communities globally. The aim of promoting Sami film must first and foremost be based on a cultural context and value, and not on the Samis’ belonging to different States. Sami language is the most important condition emphasized by ISFI in the assessment of what constitutes a Sami film. The aim is to ensure the Sami film audience a good film offer in their own language, based on their own culture.

Priority is given to activities that include children and young people.

Applicants for the production grant must be a Sami production company.

Central roles in the project must be held by Sami; in that either the producer or co-producer, and director or script writer define themselves as Sami or are speak Sami.

In order to apply for a production grant from ISFI, it is a requirement that the Sami producer or co-producer submits the application.

The Sami community has a particular need to strengthen the Sami film industry. This requirement shall ensure the Sami ownership of Sami films and build up the Sami production companies.

Production grants can be offered to limited liability companies (AS, AB, Oy) or sole proprietorships if the application is below NOK 300 000.

In order to receive a grant from ISFI, the applicant must fulfil ISFI’s application criteria. ISFI makes an overall assessment of the project on the basis of the project’s artistic quality and the criteria set by these regulations.

The grant is linked to Sami culture and language.

Projects applying for grants must comply with the following

• The project must be developed in Sami in its entirety.
• Central roles in the project must be held by Sami; in that either the producer or co-producer, and director or script writer define themselves as Sami or are speak Sami.
• The project must have a Sami theme.
• Priority is given to projects with children and young people as the target group.
• The main language in the film must be Sami.
• ISFI makes a discretionary assessment of whether the project meets the requirement of Sami affiliation and Sami language.

The production grant from ISFI is a public grant.

The production grant is usually disbursed in two parts; 75% is paid when the grant recipient has accepted the conditions of the grant in writing, and 25% is paid after the project report for the grant has been approved by ISFI.

The grant offer from ISFI is valid for three months after the offer has been made. If the grant recipient has not accepted the conditions of the grant within three months, the grant will be withdrawn without notice.

The following information must be included in the application for the production grant:

• Documentation that the applicant has a sole proprietorship or another form of organization.
• The production company’s CV, name and CV for the following roles: main producer, script writer and director
• Script
• The director’s vision note
• List of crew and cast
• Calculation of costs in the approved calculation format
• Progress plan, recording schedule and estimated completion date or premiere date
• Marketing plan
• Funding plan

Application processing time is normally 6 weeks.

Complaints of ISFI decisions can be made to the Ministry of Culture in Norway.

Application deadlines are February 1st, May 1st, September 1st and December 1st.

Applications generated and approved before January 1, 2024, remain in the previous portal and will not undergo migration to the new application portal. The reporting process remains unchanged for those tasked with reporting on grants obtained through the old portal. Conversely, applications approved in this new portal will be reported within this platform.

If the grant is disbursed in two parts, you must report in time or apply for an extension.

Applications from 2023 and previous years: The report shall be submitted via email to rapport@isfi.no with reference to the grant reference number.

Mandatory attachments in relation to the reporting

• Financial statements
  The financial statement shall show all expenses for the project. If you are reporting on a travel grant, you shall instead submit receipts documenting the expenses in relation to the budget. Expenses for food and driving are not covered.
• Project funding
  Specify and explain what funding the project has and who is funding the project.
• Project financial report
  An audited financial report for the project is required if the grant is more than NOK 200 000. If not, the accountant must sign all financial statements.
• Production grant
  In relation to the report for a production grant, the following must be submitted to ISFI: film file, poster photo, five high quality still photos and a short description of the film.

Missing report / Breach of guidelines

If the grant recipient breaches the guidelines or ISFI does not receive the report and financial accounting may be of significance to the allocation of future grants. The breach in this context means violating ISFI’s guidelines, if the grant is not used in accordance with the rules that are set for the grant, and/or failure to comply with decisions made by ISFI. In the event of a breach as mentioned above, ISFI may also choose to impose these sanctions:

• Ceasing payment of the grant for the project in question
• Ceasing payment of the grant for other projects under the grant recipients’ direction
• Requiring repayment of all or part of the grant
• Imposing a quarantine of 3 years or less on allocating new grants
• In the event of a significant breach, ISFI shall impede any form of funding for the project with immediate effect.