Netherlands

[NL] Netflix and the Netherlands Film Fund establish EUR 1 million relief fund during COVID crisis

IRIS 2020-6:1/8

Anne van der Sangen

Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam

On 17 April 2020, the Netherlands Film Fund (Nederlands Filmfonds), which is the national agency responsible for supporting film production and film-related activities in the Netherlands, and Netflix, which is the world’s largest Internet streaming service, established a EUR 1 million relief fund for Dutch film and television production to help employees who have been acutely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The production of films and series in the Netherlands has been heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Productions are at a standstill and the film and TV industry are under great pressure. The additional contribution of Netflix and the Netherlands Film Fund contributes to helping the affected employees involved in the execution of productions. This also includes freelancers, cast and crew, filmmakers and other film professionals. Thanks to the public-private partnership with Netflix, a joint support relief fund can support acutely affected productions without putting pressure on contributions to future film projects.

The cooperation falls within the frameworks announced by the Netherlands Film Fund (see IRIS 2020-5/18). A production company which is supported by the Netherlands Film Fund in the realisation of a film production or the pre-production, production or post-production of a high-end series that is directly affected by the effects of COVID-19 is eligible for the relief fund.

The costs that are reimbursed include, for example, the hold days of cast and crew members, helping to absorve the acute costs of production. Furthermore, the costs for additional technical provisions for the post-production track are eligible for reimbursement. The relief fund is an extension of the previously announced measures. However, if the consequences of and possible preconditions for a restart of the production or post-production are not foreseeable, an additional realisation application can be made at a later stage.

Depending on the project and the production phase, the additional production costs vary. The Netherlands Film Fund will therefore consider to what extent an extra effort can be made within the available resources for each individual project. The amounts quoted are therefore only given as an indication. For example, for feature films (including feature animation films) and high-end series, the estimated amount varies from EUR 50 000 to EUR 100 000. When granting the supplementary contribution, the Netherlands Film Fund will consider the size and complexity of the production and to what extent it is co-produced internationally.

The relief fund is a temporary measure applicable from 1 March to 1 December 2020. The creation of this fund is part of Netflix’s wider efforts to help TV and film professionals worldwide. Since 2015, the main establishment of Netflix International B.V. has been located in the Netherlands (see IRIS 2015/4:1-21).