The Norwegian Film Institute’s additional support to writers, directors, game producers is meant to alleviate the pressure on local companies hit by the coronavirus. 

The NOK14m (approx.€1.1m) extra funding will be allocated continuously, with no application deadline and a maximum of 3-4 weeks processing.

The Norwegian Film Institute (NFI) will also pay an extra sum for further development of projects that already received production support but were unable to go into production as planned. 

"Now it is important to keep the activity up in areas that do not actually need to shut down while the rest of the world is pausing,” said the NFI CEO Kjersti Mo. "At the same time, we must ensure that we have the best projects to put into production when the film industry goes back to normal activity." 

Norway’s Minister of Culture and Equality Abid Q. Raja also said: “The Norwegian film industry is in a period of growth and more and more Norwegian films are reaching an international audience. At the same time, we know that the audience will see stories they can recognise and Norwegian films generally have a high market share in cinemas. We must contribute to this trend so that it can continue in the future. That is why it is important that we now prepare for the good stories and projects of the future.”

Looking at the exhibition and distribution sector, severely impacted by the closure of cinemas, the NFI said it is also exploring ways to help films lined up for distribution, still reach the audience “through other channels available during this period”.