Romania will launch the call for projects for the 30% cash rebate session 2024-2026 on July 25. After a break of three years and a half, the Government approved the last corrections on the cash rebate program from the Government Decision 421/2018 on 21 June 2024, Film New Europe reports.

“In 2024-2026, we estimate that the film production will attract in Romania direct investments of over 350 million euros”, said the Romanian Minister of Culture Raluca Turcan.

The scheme will be ongoing throughout the year but the “first come, first served” rule will be replaced with “first into production” rule. The applicants will have to start the project in Romania in 60 days from the issue of the eligibility certificate, while the shooting should start in maximum nine months.

The minimum local spend is: 100.000 euros for a feature film over 60 minutes; 100.000 euros for each episode of a series; 50.000 euros for a documentary; and 15.000 euros for a short film, an animated film over 5 minutes or an animated series.

The 30% cash rebate on local eligible expenditure is up to 10 million euros for a single project, and it can be accumulated with other state aid: up to 60% for EU coproductions and 100% for difficult films.

Eligible projects include short, medium and long fiction films; series and miniseries; artistic documentaries; and animated films.

Non-eligible projects are soap operas, sitcoms, commercials and videogames.

The cash rebate scheme is handled by the Office for Film and Cultural Investments (OFIC), which was established in 2023 under the Ministry of Culture.