Flanders to scrap Screen Flanders from 2027
The economic film fund will close after 2026, while ongoing applications will be processed, according to VLAIO.
Translated from Dutch by AI
The Flemish government will end Screen Flanders from 1 January 2027. The economic support instrument attracted film, series and animation productions to Flanders for 15 years and is disappearing as part of a broader budgetary effort.
Screen Flanders is an economic support measure run by VLAIO, the Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship Agency. The fund supports feature-length fiction, documentary and animation projects that incur expenditure in the Flemish Region. According to VLAIO, a maximum of €400,000 could be awarded per project.
The measure therefore differs from the cultural VAF Film Fund. Screen Flanders was primarily focused on economic activity: productions had to generate demonstrable expenditure in Flanders. Foreign producers could access the scheme through a Belgian coproduction partner.
Cineuropa reports, based on figures from Screen Flanders, that €48.8 million in support has been awarded to 251 productions since its launch in 2012. Together, those projects are said to have generated €317.2 million in audiovisual expenditure in Flanders. Screen Flanders therefore amounts to approximately eight euros in local spending for every euro of support.
According to the fund organisation, the closure came as a complete surprise. Screen Flanders warns that producers, facilities companies and freelance professionals are losing a financing and planning instrument. The organisation says international coproductions that included Flemish expenditure in their financing plans in particular will have to seek financing again.
The Flemish government has not announced a replacement scheme. VLAIO presents the decision as part of a broader choice to target public funds more specifically. The distinction between cultural support through VAF and economic stimulus through Screen Flanders therefore remains, but without the second pillar.
The second call of 2026 will still be processed as planned. Previously submitted applications will also remain under consideration, according to Screen Flanders. For approved projects, the payment structure will not change: payment will be made in three instalments of 40, 30 and 30 per cent, linked to financing, production and proven expenditure.
For producers, the transition period is particularly important. Projects that still need Flemish money after 2026 cannot simply count on a new call. The available information says nothing yet about possible alternatives within the Flemish budget or the consequences for productions already in development but without a Screen Flanders decision.
Several perspectives
What is established
- The Flemish government will end Screen Flanders from 2027.
- The fund could provide a maximum of €400,000 per project.
- Screen Flanders reports approximately eight euros in audiovisual expenditure for every euro of support.
- Ongoing applications and the second call of 2026 will still be processed.
Left
Arguments: The scheme should be retained because public support sustains jobs, regional production capacity and cultural diversity. Scrapping a proven lever could ultimately cost more than the saving, according to this view.
Values: Collective investment, cultural accessibility, regional employment and a strong public audiovisual sector.
Consequences: The left fears fewer productions, pressure on freelancers and facilities companies, and greater dependence on commercial or foreign financiers.
Centre
Arguments: The scheme should be assessed on demonstrable economic returns and efficiency. A transitional arrangement, evaluation and possible reorientation towards projects with the greatest regional impact could form an institutional compromise.
Values: Budgetary discipline, predictability, transparency and policy continuity.
Consequences: The centre stresses that an abrupt closure undermines investment certainty, but that support instruments must also be adjusted periodically.
Right
Arguments: The government should restrict itself to core duties and not maintain a sector fund when there is budgetary pressure. According to this view, producers can decide for themselves which projects are economically viable.
Values: Lower public spending, market forces, entrepreneurial responsibility and simple regulation.
Consequences: The right points to scope for tax cuts or more targeted support, but accepts that some productions may move to other regions.
Fact check Approved
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The article's core is directly confirmed by VLAIO and Screen Flanders. The historical and financial figures come from fund data cited by Cineuropa.
- Confirmed Screen Flanders will be abolished from 1 January 2027. — VLAIO and Screen Flanders report that it will cease from 2027.
- Confirmed A maximum of €400,000 in support could be awarded per project. — This amount is stated in VLAIO's announcement.
- Confirmed €48.8 million has been awarded to 251 productions since 2012. — Cineuropa cites Screen Flanders figures for this.
- Confirmed The second call of 2026 and ongoing applications will be processed. — Screen Flanders reports that existing commitments and submitted applications will remain in place.
Editor’s note
The abolition, transitional arrangements and stated amounts have been confirmed by Flemish government and fund sources. No replacement measure or full impact on projects not yet approved is known.Sources
- Stopzetting Screen Flanders — Screen Flanders
- Vlaamse Regering beslist om Screen Flanders stop te zetten — VLAIO
- Flanders to abolish the Screen Flanders economic film incentive — Cineuropa
- Vervolgstappen Screen Flanders — VLAIO