Hungary/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation  

5.3.6 Film, video and photography

A significant achievement was made with the passing of the Film Law, see  chapter 4.2.6. It established a national Co-ordinating Council and a National Film Office. The law reinforced the role of the Hungarian Public Foundation for Motion Pictures (MMA) in distributing state subsidies, the amount of which (against expectations of the trade) is not specified by the law; in 2009, the MMA budget was HUF 5 420 million (ca. euro 21 million).

The law offers film-makers tax relief on private investment in film-making as well as in the infrastructure. The construction of a large film studio, in the countryside, by a US-Hungarian joint venture has already been announced and the number of co-production films made in Hungary has grown.

A new feature of the law is the system of automatic (called "normative") subsidy given retroactively to filmmakers who have met certain targets set upon their previous creations; also to distributors of Hungarian or art films - this category is determined by the Film Office.

In 2008, state support to film makers was revised - including investment tax credits - in the context of negotiations with the European Commission (see  chapter 5.1.5).