German-Polish Film Fund (DPFF)

The German-Polish Film Fund (DPFF), supported by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH, the Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA), Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM), and the Polish Film Institute (PISF), provides repayable loans to support German-Polish co-productions of feature films, animated films, and documentaries. Funding is available for both project development (up to €70,000) and production (up to €150,000) of artistically ambitious films with a total budget of up to €750,000. A funding rate of up to 70% of the calculated costs strengthens the financial base, while regional expenditures in Poland and Germany (particularly in Central Germany as well as Berlin-Brandenburg) stimulate the local economic cycle. Eligible applicants are small and medium-sized production companies from Germany and Poland that have contractually engaged at least one German and one Polish partner. Submissions are accepted twice a year; the next deadline will be announced.

The fund aims to intensify cross-border collaboration and support projects with potential for theatrical release in both countries. Applicants submit a project description, a treatment or screenplay, a co-production agreement, detailed budgets, a financing plan, as well as director’s and producer’s notes. These documents are supplemented by a crew and cast list and rights declarations. Applications are evaluated by the managing directors of the participating funding institutions and are usually decided upon in joint allocation meetings. The DPFF thus offers effective support for innovative co-productions that sustainably enrich German-Polish film culture.