Next year's state budget will include a special mechanism to increase support for the film industry and foreign film projects in Latvia, LTV reports.

Representatives of the government, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia (LIAA) and film industry organizations have managed to agree on a new mechanism to support the reception of foreign film projects in Latvia.

"We have created an instrument to make this support stable, secure, sustainable, and comparable to other countries. So that we are able to attract and support these foreign film producers here," said Karina Ploka, Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Finance.

Under the new mechanism, foreign film projects in Latvia will be eligible for state support of up to 30% of the total project cost.

The same mechanism could also finance so-called 'grand events' - large international events attracting at least 10,000 people. They will be eligible for co-financing of up to 20%. In total, around €7.5 million is earmarked in next year's budget for these purposes, and this amount is set to increase in the coming years, with €7.9 million available in 2026 and €8.3 million in 2027.

It has recently emerged that the video streaming giant Netflix is likely to abandon its plan to film its new TV series in Latvia with a budget of €20 million.

However, the film industry could not say whether this change would bring the series back to Latvia, but were pleased that the playing field would be clearer and that it would allow them to better compete with neighboring countries to attract the giants of the film industry.

Jānis Kalējs, a representative of the Latvian Film Service Producers Association, said that the industry feels uplifted and listened to: "We are now on an equal footing with Finland, Estonia and Poland, in fact with the region. So we can compete with confidence. What we say to foreigners: come, there is 30% [support], that is our message."

This idea, however, still needs to be approved by the Parliament. In addition, the LIAA, in cooperation with the Ministry of Economics, needs to prepare rules and criteria to clarify which film projects and major events will be eligible for state co-financing.