The impact of AVEK's funding

With our support, new documentary films, short films, media art works and innovative cultural products are being created. The funds that we distribute generate jobs, tax revenue and, for the audiovisual sector, funds from outside of public financing, in addition to new culture.
Four men dressed in suits standing in front of a building.
Arthur Franck’s The Helsinki Effect (Polygraf Oy), which recounts the story of the CSCE process that greatly influenced the end of the Cold War, is one of the works supported by AVEK. Photo: Ford Library.

How did AVEK support new works and creators in 2025?

In 2025, AVEK allocated €0.7 million from copyright funds to support the creation of new works. A total of 81 works were supported through the compensation for private copying funded from the state budget and national funds granted by the Kopiosto copyright organisation.

AVEK also allocated a total of €0.7 million in funding from special appropriations granted by the Ministry of Education and Culture to support the development of new cultural content, products and services, as well as to strengthen the production culture of audiovisual works in the field of media art.

Through Kehittämö, a joint development programme run by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and AVEK, AVEK also supports emerging filmmakers in their first feature-length film projects. In the project offering mentoring and financial support to creators, AVEK’s share of the funding amounted to €238,000 in 2025.

“We’ve already had international successes in the audiovisual sector, but there is still export potential yet to be utilised. AVEK’s forms of support for the development of international training, networking and funding are particularly important for those at the start of their careers.” – film director Juho Kuosmanen 

Did you know that support provided to the cultural sector is returned to society many times over?

Taloustutkimus carried out a study in 2021, on behalf of Kulta ry, that the government’s €1.3 billion in support generates €14 billion in output.

“The importance of grants is highlighted in the early stages in particular if the creators have no other background to convince potential investors or other parties.” – entrepreneur Mikko Kaipainen, Yousician

What impacts do AVEK’s grants have on the economy and employment?

The results of the support granted to the audiovisual sector are reflected not only in employment among audiovisual professionals but also in withholding tax deductions, pension and social security contributions, as well as in the VAT on goods and services purchased for productions. During the filming stage of audiovisual productions, a great many services are also purchased from other companies, meaning that the employment benefits extend to sectors such as logistics, accommodation and catering.

According to a report published by the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2026,, state funding is involved in around 70 per cent of all domestic films. In fact, financial support in the early stages is often a prerequisite for securing further funding and the completion of the work.

In a survey carried out by AVEK in 2024, production companies that had received support from AVEK estimated that they had received a median of €77,500 in non-public funding for their productions during the period 2021–2023. The vast majority said that the support had helped them to secure other funding.

AVEK’s grant focused particularly on the early stages of the production, the script and the demo. Without these, it would not have been possible to present the project to the prospective venue or potential further funders.

a producer who responded to AVEK’s survey

“Without AVEK, Finland would not see as many high-quality, socially significant documentary films.” – director and screenwriter Suvi West

Throughout AVEK’s history, spanning more than 35 years,

  • we have funded enterprises and authors of the audiovisual sector with about EUR 77 million in total with the compensation for private copying
  • we have supported the making of more than 3,200 films or other audiovisual work
  • EUR 28 million of the funds we have received has returned to the state in the form of income tax, pension and side costs and value-added tax for services and goods acquired by the productions