The Riga Film Fund competition evaluation commission of the co-financing program for foreign films has examined the applications received in June. Five film projects in the amount of EUR 511 732 were approved for entering into a co-financing agreement with Riga municipality.
Co-financing is to be paid only when filming is completed and the money is already spent in Riga and Latvia, and producers will have submitted reports approved by sworn auditors about the use of the funds.
Approval for the co-financing agreement with Riga municipality was received by Ego Media's application for the sports drama about the Estonian basketball team Kalev, which is based on real events in the early 1990s. The film will be in collaboration with Allfilm (Estonia). Filming in Latvia is scheduled for August this year. The Riga Film Fund will co-finance 25% of the costs in Latvia, as Riga will be shown in the film plot.
Co-financing will also be received by Film Angels Studio's application for a collaboration with Now-Films (UK), a Gothic horror film with thriller elements and the American poet Edgar Allan Poe as the protagonist. Filming is planned in Latvia in October 2020, and the co-financing of the Riga Film Fund will be 20% of the costs in Latvia.
Another Film Angels Studio project was approved for co-financing. The films, which will be produced in collaboration with Taska Film (Estonia), are a book-based medieval criminal film trilogy, the events of which will take place in Tallinn during the Hanseatic League era. Filming in Latvia is scheduled for August and September of this year, and the co-financing of the Riga Film Fund will be 20% of the costs in Latvia.
Tasse Film's application was also approved for the co-financing agreement, which will be developed in cooperation with Studio Metrage (Poland). The tragic drama, which will look back at the events of World War II in Poland, is scheduled to be filmed in Latvia at the end of July and August 2020. The co-financing of the project will be 20% of the costs in Latvia.
The fifth project to receive the co-financing of the Riga Film Fund is a trilogy of historical documentaries. It was announced by Cinevilla Films and will be produced in collaboration with Story House Productions (Germany). Filming in Latvia is scheduled from the second half of July this year until September. The Riga Film Fund will co-finance 20% of the costs in Latvia.
According to the Riga City Council, the amount of co-financing planned by the competition is EUR 800 000 and the deadline for submitting applications is open until September 30. If the requests for co-financing exceeds the amount planned for the tender, the evaluation committee will cease to accept further applications.
