How Much Will the State Pay for One Film? Ukraine’s Film Support Law and Its Open Calls

When a film is made in Ukraine, what share of its cost can the state cover? The answer is written in law: the Law on State Support for Cinematography in Ukraine (No. 1977-VIII), adopted on March 23, 2017 and taking effect on April 26, 2017. This law was substantially rewritten by an amending law (No. 4743-IX) of December 18, 2025, which was published on June 6, 2026 and took effect the following day.

This article is based on the text as it appears in the Verkhovna Rada’s legal database as of September 2026, and on materials published by the State Film Agency of Ukraine (Держкіно, Derzhkino).

Where the money comes from, and who distributes it

Article 6 of the law names three sources of funding for film support: funds received from the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, the state budget, and other income not prohibited by law. As of the September 2026 text, the amount from the state budget is set at “at least 0.2% of general fund expenditures under the previous year’s state budget,” and film support is to be established as a separate line item within the budget.

The State Film Agency manages the money, but it does not decide how it is spent on its own. Article 6 provides that the Agency uses the budget in accordance with decisions of the “Council for State Support of Cinematography.” The Council is a nine-member body established by the Cabinet of Ministers, with a two-year term; the same person may not serve two consecutive terms (Article 9). Of the nine members, one is nominated by the ministry that sets policy (the Ministry of Culture), one by the State Film Agency, and the remaining seven are selected through an open call from candidates nominated by creative and industry organizations active in film and television.

The upper limits on the state’s share

State support takes several forms (Article 7). The upper limits on funding for the production of a film itself are as follows, comparing the original 2017 text with the version after the June 2026 amendment.

A single film may receive only one of the following: procurement, a production grant, a series grant, or repayable support (Article 7, paragraph 2). Rights to a film that received a grant belong to the production company, but if the film turns a profit, the company must enter a contract to pay part of the profit to the state, up to a cap of 50% of the support it received (Article 13).

The “national film” eligible for support

Support for production is available to a “national film” (національний фільм). Under the definition in Article 3 of the Law on Cinematography (1998, No. 9/98-VR), this means a film produced wholly or partly in Ukraine, made with its main dialogue in Ukrainian or Crimean Tatar, and scoring the required number of points under the law’s point system. When required by the work’s own conception, dialogue in another language may make up to 10% of the total dialogue length, by decision of the Council (children’s films and animation excepted).

This definition covers a different scope from what is called a “Ukrainian film” in Japan. How the term can refer to different things depending on whether it is counted by country of production, setting, or the nationality of the filmmakers is covered in our article on the five things “Ukrainian film” can mean.

Open calls are decided by “pitching”

Works receiving production grants or procurement are selected through a public review process called “pitching” (пітчинг, творчий конкурс). Applicants submit a script, budget, the director’s approach, the producer’s concept, and a promotion plan, among other materials, and the Council decides after review (Article 9). Review of commercially oriented films takes place in two stages, with different experts evaluating each stage. Video of Council meetings, expert panels, and pitching sessions must be kept posted online for at least seven years.

As of September 2026, the State Film Agency’s “Results of Past Competitions” page lists the calls from the 12th round (2019) to the 14th round (2020). Counting from the lists of winning projects for each round gives the following.

A rebate to attract foreign shoots

State support is not only for domestic production companies. Article 11 establishes a mechanism to rebate 25% of eligible expenses incurred domestically when a foreign production company partners with a Ukrainian company to film in Ukraine — a so-called “cash rebate.” The condition is scoring at least 14 out of 27 points on the production criteria (such as days of filming and domestic spending) in the “cultural test” set out in the law’s annex; scoring at least 4 out of 20 points on the criteria relating to Ukrainian culture adds a further 5%.

Provisions that shut out Russian films and music

The law supporting film also includes provisions that shut out works from Russia. Article 15-1 of the Law on Cinematography bans the distribution and screening of films that portray Russian institutions in a positive light, as well as films made by individuals or legal entities of an “aggressor state.” This applies to films produced or first released after January 1, 2014. This article was added by a 2015 law (No. 159-VIII, took effect June 4, 2015) and rewritten by the Law on Media (No. 2849-IX) of December 13, 2022, which took effect March 31, 2023.

On the support side as well, a company cannot receive state support if its investors or ultimate beneficial owners are residents of an aggressor state (Article 12 of the Law on State Support for Cinematography). Support is also not provided to films involving people listed as threats to national security or subject to sanctions.

On music, a law of June 19, 2022 (No. 2310-IX, took effect October 7, 2022) banned, among other things, playing in public the songs of singers who held citizenship of an aggressor state at any point after 1991 (excepting those who later held only Ukrainian citizenship, those who have made statements condemning the invasion, and others). The text states, however, that this ban does not extend to music used within films.

Developments in 2026

Even after the June 7, 2026 amendment took effect, the Council has continued to meet roughly monthly, deciding matters such as extensions to production periods and changes to budgets. The State Film Agency publishes its decisions and minutes (as of September 2026, the most recent is the meeting of September 16).

Support not limited to film has also begun, with a cultural content support program called “Tysiachovesna” (Тисячовесна), run by the Office of the President and the Ministry of Culture. According to a State Film Agency announcement of August 14, 2026, the President said at the venue of the final pitching round that, of more than 2,600 applications, 1,227 had advanced to the final stage.

As shown here, the mechanism for supporting film is set out in the law in detail. How much has actually been distributed each year, however, requires looking at the state budget and the Council’s decisions year by year. A film made in Kyiv in the Soviet era and pulled from screens nine days after its release is covered in our article on Dovzhenko’s Earth.