For AVEK, 2025 was an exceptional year. Due to drastic funding cuts, the total amount of financial support distributed decreased from EUR 2.9 million in the previous year to EUR 1.7 million.
This change is particularly pronounced in the grants for documentaries, short films and media art works, which AVEK awards from the funds obtained from compensation for private copying. In 2025, AVEK used copyright funds to support the creation of a total of 81 works, compared to 163 works in 2024.
“Considering the plight of the audiovisual sector, it is alarming that we have supported such a small number of works,” says Director of AVEK Ulla Simonen.
“When projects are unable to get off the ground, more and more success stories will fail to materialise. As a result, the supply of Finnish films will dwindle.”
AVEK, which operates as part of the copyright organisation Kopiosto, is mainly funded by compensation for private copying, meaning statutory compensation paid from the state budget for allowing citizens to record films for their private use, for example. The Government’s cuts to this compensation have put a massive dent in AVEK’s support activities. To alleviate the situation, the Kopiosto Board of Directors granted AVEK some of the national funds intended to promote projects in the Finnish creative industry.
“The national funds granted to us by Kopiosto were invaluable additional funding that allowed us to continue to award personal scriptwriting support and project grants throughout the year. Without the help of Kopiosto, we would’ve been able to support no more than forty works,” Simonen says.
“These funds were also used for the Young People’s Short Film Festival project, which was carried out in partnership with Yle and the Church Media Foundation. This kind of cooperation between operators in this industry is very valuable in difficult times, as it allows new works to be supported with better resources.”
The short films are part of the 100th anniversary of Yle and will be screened in 2026.
Late confirmation of the amount of funding hinders support activities
The industry reacted to the cuts in AVEK’s funding, and the number of applications received also decreased from a total of 1,273 applications in 2024 to only 989 in 2025. In terms of amounts, the grants applied for totalled EUR 11 million in 2024 and EUR 7.5 million in 2025.
In 2025, a total of 291 applications were received for work grants for production companies and personal work grants for authors, which is the lowest number of applications received in the 2020s. The low number of applications may also have been contributed to by the shorter application period.
“At a time like this, we need to assess more carefully what kind of support activities will have the greatest impact and which projects are best placed to succeed. Many viable ideas have been left without support,” Simonen says.
For work grants intended for businesses, the application system was kept closed until August because the Ministry of Education and Culture did not confirm the amount of funds to be allocated to AVEK for distribution until June.
Support also for mentoring young filmmakers and the product development of creative content
The funds obtained from compensation for private copying, which was cut, are also used to cover AVEK’s share of the funding for the Kehittämö programme, implemented in collaboration with the Finnish Cultural Foundation. The programme, which is aimed at developing the professional skills of young professionals in the audiovisual industry, was implemented for the third time in 2025.
In late 2025, it was announced that the Finance Committee of Parliament had granted Kehittämö EUR 150,000 in Christmas gift funds.
“We’re very grateful for this decision, as the funding will allow us to implement the next round of Kehittämö in accordance with the planned scope. The funds are also a tangible indication of the value of the work we do,” Simonen says.
AVEK also distributes grants from special appropriations allocated by the Ministry of Education and Culture. These appropriations fund the Mediarata grants for media art production companies and producers, which amounted to a total of EUR 105,000 in 2025, distributed among nine production companies.
The special appropriations allocated by the Ministry of Education and Culture are also used to distribute CreaDemo and DigiDemo grants to the creative industry. CreaDemo grants are awarded for development projects in the creative industries and cultural entrepreneurship. In 2025, 23 companies received a total of EUR 262,000 in CreaDemo grants. DigiDemo supports the product development of new digital content, and the total amount distributed in 2025 was EUR 320,000 among 32 companies.