IBF Europe: Regulations for Minority Co-production Support

The fund is looking for documentaries that use strong visual treatments to tell compelling stories and have the potential to reach a global audience.

Through IBF Europe Minority Co-production support, the IDFA Bertha Fund aims to encourage European producers (see MEDIA sub-program countries) to participate as co-producer in high-quality documentary projects by filmmakers from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and Oceania (see IBF Europe Country List).

Specific attention will be paid to applications of European producers from countries with limited national co-production funding schemes, or from countries that are not yet fully involved in international co-productions.

IBF Europe is supported by the Creative Europe – MEDIA programme of the European Union.

Key facts:

• The maximum amount awarded per project is €40,000
• A maximum of 5-6 projects can be supported in 2023
• Only complete applications will be take into consideration (see checklist for IBF Europe Entry).
• The upcoming application deadline is 1 April 2023
• The selection will be announced in June 2023

Changes since 2022:

• Minority co-production support: as of 2022, the co-production scheme is turning into a minority co-production scheme, which means that the applicant co-producer (from a country participating in the MEDIA Sub-programme) can only be a minority producer on the project.
• Eurimages: as of 2022, the restrictions towards the participation of Eurimages members in projects have been lifted. An eligible co-production structure should consist of one co-producer (applicant) from a country participating in the MEDIA Sub-programme and one co-producer from a country on the IBF list of eligible countries (that is not participating in the MEDIA Sub-programme).

Please read the Regulations below carefully to see if your project meets the basic criteria before filling out the entry form, which will be available through MyIDFA from February 17, 2023.

Regulations

Applications to the IBF Europe Minority Co-production support should correspond to the following criteria:

Eligible projects

• Creative documentaries of a minimum length of 60 minutes, that are in any stage of production.
• Documentary projects by filmmakers with the nationality from a country in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean and Oceania, as defined on the IBF Europe country list and preferably live and work in this country. A co-direction with a filmmaker from a country which is not on the IBF Europe country list is not eligible.
• Documentary projects that are shot in one of the countries on the IBF Europe country list.
• Documentary projects that will be finalized at the latest in September 2024. General timeframe of the project should indicate that all conditions and payments as mentioned in the contract will be finalized before the 1st of January 2025. For more information on Contracts and Assessment download this PDF.
• Projects should be produced with a minimum of two co-production countries: One co-production company from a country participating in the MEDIA Sub-program and one co-production company from a country on the IBF Europe country list.
• The share of the co-producers coming from countries participating in the MEDIA sub-program must amount to a minimum of 20% and cannot exceed 70%.
• The co-production structure should be reflected in a co-production agreement. For the purpose of the project selection procedure a memo-deal may be accepted.

The memo-deal needs to contain detailed provisions on the following aspects:

• clear indication of the participation of each co-producer in the financing of the project;
• joint ownership of all the rights;
• sharing of the revenues between all co-producers (exclusive and/or shared territories); taking into account that the producers coming from the MEDIA Sub-program countries together have a share between 20% and 70%;
• definition of the total budget, spending requirements and the event of over-budget;
• reference to the treaties applicable.

Eligible applicants

• Applicant should be a minority producer in the project and an audiovisual entity established in one of the countries participating in the MEDIA Sub-program and owned - directly or by majority participation - by nationals from such countries.
• The applicant should have demonstrable experience in film production and co-production. Information on previous co-productions should be filled out in the entry form.

Financial eligibility rules

• The total budget (development, production and postproduction) of the proposed project should not exceed €500,000 and should reflect the expenditure on the creative element from a MEDIA sub-program country.
• Of the IBF Europe grant a minimum of 15% should be spent in a MEDIA sub-program country. The expenditure should demonstrate the co-producer’s artistic involvement in the project and can be spent on eligible costs in the production or postproduction process. The producer’s fee is not part of this expenditure.
• Eligible costs for production and postproduction include key crew, travel and accommodation, equipment, archive, editor/editing system, color correction, sound mixing, screening copies, mastering, subtitling, deliverables, distribution consultancy and external auditor. Only costs made after the date of application are eligible.
• The producer’s fee of the applicant is limited to a maximum of 7,5% of the total awarded grant. The total overhead of the applicant cannot exceed 10% of the awarded grant, including the producer’s fee.
• Costs for an external auditor should be included in the budget. The financial report for the IDFA Bertha Fund should include the official approval of an external auditor on the expenses made.
• The IBF Europe Co-production Support cannot be combined with funding from the following similar international co-production schemes funded by Creative Europe:
  • Berlinale: WCF Europe Programme
  • Torino Film Lab: Co-production Fund
  • IFFR: HBF+Europe

Selection procedure

All submissions will be evaluated within 3 months after the deadline. The end of May, a selection committee will meet to decide on the final selection and the complete selection will be announced shortly thereafter. Please note that within six months of selection of a project, 50% of the financing should be in place.

Once a project is selected the applicant has the obligation to mention the IDFA Bertha Fund Europe by means of a logo provided by the fund in the credits of the documentary and all publicity material.

For more information on the selection procedure, assessments and contracts, click here.

The IDFA Bertha Fund is supported by Bertha Foundation, Creative Europe Media, JustFilms / Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Netherlands Film Fund, ASN Foundation and Special Friends+.