institut ramon llull barcelona 08008/diagonal 373/ tel. (+34) 93467 80 00 /fax (+34) 93467 80 06 / /
L0168 U10
GUIDELINES FOR GRANTS AWARDED THE INSTITUT RAMON LLULL FOR THE SUBTITLING OF FEATURE FILMS, SHORT FILMS AND DOCUMENTARIES PRODUCED IN CATALONIA
1. Purpose
1.1. The purpose of these guidelines is to govern the awarding of grants for the subtitling of feature films (fiction, documentaries and animated films), short films and television documentaries produced in Catalonia, with the aim of encouraging and promoting Catalan film abroad.
The feature film (fiction, documentary or animated film), short film or television documentary must be completed within the grant-call year, and must be submitted in its completed form along with the application before the deadline stipulated in the resolution opening the call for grants.The subtitling must be done in the same grant-call year but need not have been totally completed before the application is submitted.
Subtitling is taken to mean the cost of translating, time coding, adapting, filing and embedding subtitles for feature films (fiction, documentaries and animated films), short films and television documentaries in any format.
The following is not covered under these grants:
- Series, mini-series and audiovisual productions created for advertising purposes.
- Audiovisual productions that fall within the visual arts sphere..
1.2. The grants awarded in accordance with these rules are considered de minimis aid, governed by Commission Regulation (EU) 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013 on the application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union to de minimis aid (OJEU L352 of 24/12/2013).
1.3. The call for these grants shall be published in the Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya(DOGC) (the Official Bulletin of the Catalan Government), without prejudice to it being sent to the General State Comptroller of Spain by the body of the Catalan Government to be determined, for its publication in the National Database of Grants. The call will take effect as of the day it is published in the DOGC.
2. Recipients
2.1. This grant is open to independent audiovisual production companies that are onrecord in the Catalan Register of Audiovisual Companies or the Administrative Register of Audiovisual and Film Companies under the aegis of the Institute of Film and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), or companies that are from a Member State of the European Union or European Economic Area, have offices within Spain and are on record in the equivalent register in their home country.
“Independent audiovisual production company” shall be taken to mean any self-employed individual or legal entity that meets the following conditions: it has a legal status distinct from that of a company providing audiovisual communication services; it does not hold, either directly or indirectly, more than a 15% shares in one or more companies providing audiovisual communication services; no more than 15% of its share capital is held, either directly or indirectly, by one or more companies providing audiovisual communication services; and, during the past three fiscal years, has not been dependent for more than 90% of its turnover on a single company providing audiovisual communication services.
For the purposes of these guidelines, “company providing audiovisual communication services” shall be taken to mean any self-employed individual or legal entitywith editorial responsibility for radio or television broadcasts or the associated audiovisual content, and broadcasts said content or arranges for it to be broadcast by third parties.
2.2. The following are not eligible for these grants:
a) Public organizations or institutions.
b) Organizers of film festivals.
c) Applicants with debts payable to the Institut Ramon Llull recognised by its Director in a ruling that has become final.
3. Requirements and Incompatibility
3.1. To qualify as a grant beneficiary, the applicants must meet the following requirements and conditions. The requirements in each case will be determined based on the specific circumstances and must be accredited under the terms of Rule 7.
a) Fulfil the requirements and general conditions set out in Article 13 of the General Grants Act (Law 38/2003 of 17 November) (Official State Bulletin no. 276 of 18/11/2003).
b) Fulfil to date all tax obligations required by the Catalan Government and the Spanish State, as well as all Social Security obligations. If the applicant's tax residence is located outside Spain, s/he must submit a declaration establishing this residence.
c) Submit a statement attesting whether or not the applicant has applied for and/or received other public or private grants for the same activity, indicating the awarding entities and the amount requested and/or received.
d) If any elements subject to copyright are used in the pursuit of the grant-funded activity, applicants must comply with the regulations set forth in intellectual property law.
e) In the case of Spanish self-employed individuals, applicants must be on record in the Economic Activities Tax Register, where required.
f) In the case of non-profit organisations, applicants must be on record in the appropriate registry.
g) If the applicant has a workforce equal to or larger than 50 people, comply with the legally required quota of positions allocated to people with disabilities provided for in Article 42.1 of the Revised Text of the General Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and their Social Inclusion, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 1/2013 of 29 November, or with the alternative measures of exceptional nature established in Royal Decree 364/2005 of 8 April and Decree 86/2015 of 2 June.
h) If the applicant has a workforce equal to or larger than 25 people, have measures to prevent, detect and intervene in cases of sexual harassment and harassment for reasons of gender in the workplace, in accordance with the social agents, and apply them correctly, as set out in Articles 5 and 29 of Law 5/2008 of 24 April on the Right of Women to Eradicate Sexist Violence. If the applicant is not subject to the aforementioned law, s/he must comply with the applicable regulations.
i) Comply with the stipulations of Article 36.4 of Law 1/1998 of 7 January on Linguistic Policy in the Workplace, and, in the case of companies with establishments open to the public in Catalonia, comply with the stipulations of Articles 32.1 and 32.3 of said Law.
j) In the case of foundations and associations, their statutes must have been adapted according to the First Transitional Provision of Law 4/2008 of 24 April in Book Three of the Civil Code of Catalonia, on legal entities, and Law 5/2011 of 19 July amending the former.
k) Foundations must have fulfilled the obligation to submit annual accounts to the protectorate, in accordance with Article 336-3 in Book Three of the Civil Code of Catalonia, approved by Law 4/2008 of 24 April.
l) In the case of companies or organisations, they must not have been penalised for, or found guilty of, workplace practices that are considered discriminatory on the basis of sex or gender and which are penalised by means of a final administrative ruling or judicial sentence in accordance with article 11.1 of Law 17/2015 of 21 July, which applies equally to both men and women.
m) To submit an affadavit regarding other de minimis aid received and/or requested during the current fiscal year and the two previous fiscal years, including any aid awarded by the Institut Ramon Llull. This includes de minimis aid granted for the grant-funded activity or any other activities by any State authority and/or the European Union.
3.2. Incompatibility
These grants are not compatible with other grants awarded for the same purpose by the Office for the Support of Cultural Initiative, the Catalan Institute of Cultural Enterprises or other entities under the aegis of, or linked to, the Department of Culture.
They are compatible with other aid, income or resources granted for the same purpose by other public authorities or public or private entities.
4. Amount
4.1. The amount of each grant may be up to 100% of the grant-supported expenditure set out in Rule 5. A maximum amount of €2,500 may be awarded per feature film (fiction, documentary or animated film) and television documentary, and €800 per short film.
4.2. The minimum incurred and accredited expenditure required in order to consider the objective and purpose of the grant fulfilled is 60%. Non-compliance with the minimum expenditure threshold established will constitute cause for revocation of the grant.
If the actual cost of the grant-funded activity is less than that initially budgeted, the amount of the awarded grant will be reduced in the same proportion.
4.3. If the difference between the initially budgetd and the final, substantiated cost of the grant-funded activity does not exceed 20%, there will be no reduction in the amount of the awarded grant. This percentage is only applicable if it is ensured that the objective/ purpose of the grant has been fulfilled.
4.4. The amount of the grant, plus any other de minimis aid awarded by any public authority during the current financial year and the previous two financial years, may not exceed €200,000.
5. Grant-supported Expenditure
5.1. The cost of translating, time coding, adapting, filing and embedding subtitles for feature films (fiction, documentaries and animated films), short films and television documentaries in any format is considered grant-supported expenditure.
5.2. A maximum amount of €5,000 may be awarded per feature film (fiction, documentary or animated film) and television documentary, and €1,600 per short film.
5.3. Any VAT the beneficiary is unable to recover or offset is considered grant-supported expenditure.
5.4. The cost of printing copies and mastering and converting files is not considered grant-supported expenditure.
5.5. Expenditure derived from the creation of Catalan subtitles is not considered grant-supported expenditure.
5.6. No maximum limit is established for the subcontracting of the grant-funded activity.
6. Applications
6.1. One application should be submitted per feature film (fiction, documentary or animated film), short film or television documentary.
6.2. The applications and other formalities associated with the procedure for awarding grants and submitting supporting documents should preferably be submitted electronically on the Institut Ramon Llull website. Exceptionally, they may be submitted in person at the institution's Barcelona office (Avinguda Diagonal 373, 08008 Barcelona) or at any of the registries and offices set out in Article 38.4 of Law 30/1992 of 26 November on the Legal Framework for Public Administrations and Common Administrative Procedure. If the application is submitted in paper form, the standardised form is available at the institution's Barcelona office or online at
6.3. Spanish citizens or foreign citizens residing in Spain who wish to submit their applications electronically must validate their identity via the electronic signature systems that are accepted by the website for medium-level procedures in accordance with the National Security Scheme (Royal Decree 3/2010 of 8 January regulating the National Security Scheme regarding Electronic Administration) and the Identification and Electronic Signature Protocol (Order GRI/233/2015 of 20 July).
Non-resident foreign citizens submitting their applications electronically must validate their identity via the website's identification system with a user name and password. The Institut Ramon Llull will provide the parties concerned with a user name and password, via a secure channel, once the documents accrediting their identity have been verified.
6.4. For all other transactions associated with the procedure for granting aid and submitting supporting documents electronically, the accreditation and signature mechanisms described in the Institut Ramon Llull’s identification and electronic signature policy will be applied.
6.5. If the website becomes inoperative due to accidental circumstances, and provided it is technically possible, website users will be sent a message notifying them of those circumstances and indicating the offices where the documents may alternatively be submitted. If it becomes inoperative on the final day for carrying out the necessary procedure, this may be done within 24 hours of restoring the website.
7. Documents that must Accompany the Application
7.1. To apply for a grant from the Institut Ramon Llull, an application must be submitted (using the standardised form), to which the following documents, unbound, must be attached:
- Written plan of the activity, including full descriptive information regarding the feature film (fiction, documentary or animated film), short film or television documentary.
- Complete and detailed budget for the activity (time coding, adapting, filing and embedding subtitles), including all estimated expenditure and income, the amount of aid requested and details of all sources of funding, in accordance with the model. This budget must be accompanied by an estimate from the supplier who will carry out the subtitling.
- Documents accrediting the director's professional record.
- Documents accrediting the professional records of the scriptwriter, composer and leading actors.
- Letters of invitation from international festivals, markets, exhibitions or international film series at which the feature film (fiction, documentary or animated film), short film or television documentary has been or is scheduled to be presented.
- Link (Vimeo, YouTube, etc.) to view the feature film (fiction, documentary or animated film), short film or television documentary online if it has not yet been subtitled.
If, at the time the application is submitted, the feature film (fiction, documentary or animated film), short film or television documentary has already been subtitled, a subtitled copy in DVD format of the original must be submitted.
- Statement of compliance regarding the original, complete, final version of the film.
- Statement of compliance regarding the applicant’s status as an independent audiovisual production company in accordance with Rule 2.1.
- Agreements with foreign co-producers (where applicable).
- Resolution or certificate accrediting registration with the Catalan Register of Audiovisual Companies (REAC) or the Administrative Register of Audiovisual and Film Companies under the aegis of the Institute of Film and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), or, for companies that are from a Member State of the European Union or European Economic Area and have offices within Spain, registration with the appropriate registry in said Member State.
To speed up the process, the documents set out in Rule 11.5 may be submitted together with the application.
7.2. The requirements specified in Rules 2.2 and 3.1 will be accredited with the relevant statemen that is included with the application form, which will also contain express authorisation to consult the applicant's tax information, where necessary.
Submission of the grant application authorises the competent authority to check the validity of the data or statements contained therein.
Important inaccuracies, falsehoods or omissions in any data or document submitted along with the grant application will nullify this procedure from the moment those are known and once the party concerned has been heard, and, as a result, the grant application will be rejected, notwithstanding that such circumstances may constitute cause for revocation of the grant if they are known after the grant is awarded.
8. Application Deadline
The deadline for submitting applications is stipulated in the announcement of the call for grant proposals.
9. Assessment Criteria
The following assessment criteria are taken into account when awarding grants:
a) The professional record of the director of the feature film (fiction, documentary or animated film), short film or television documentary.
The score will be determined based on the following parameters:
-Directing a minimum of one feature film, short film or documentary, not including the audiovisual production for which the grant is sought: 1 point.
-Awards and record at international festivals: 1 point.
If the film has more than one director, the record of the most experienced director will be assessed.
Score: up to 2 points.
b) International outreach of the project. The score will be determined based on the following parameters:
-Participation of foreign co-producers: 1 point.
-Letters of invitation from international festivals, fairs, exhibitions or cinematic events at which the feature film, short film or television documentary has been or is scheduled to be presented: 1 point.
-Inclusion in the Catalan Film Database: 1 point.
-International appeal of the proposal: 1 point.
Score: up to 4 points.
c) The original version of the feature film (fiction, documentary or animated film), short film or television documentary. The score will be determined based on the following parameters:
-If the original version is in Catalan and the language of the film is entirely Catalan: 2 points.
-If the original version is in Catalan and the language of the film is Catalan and other languages: 1 point.
Score: up to 2 points.
d) Interest and content of the project. The score will be determined based primarily on the following parameters:
-The relevance of Catalan culture in the subject matter or setting of the feature film, short film or documentary: 1 point.
-Involvement of a Catalan director, composer and scriptwriter:1 point.
-Involvement of Catalan leading actors or main characters: 1 point.
-Technical and artistic quality, use of innovative cinematographic language and/or new technologies: 1 point.
-Strategic interest of the Institut Ramon Llull in relation to the commemoration of official events: 1 point.
Score: up to 5 points.
A maximum of 13 points may be awarded.
10. Grant-awarding Procedure
10.1. The procedure for awarding grants in conducted on the basis of competitive tendering and is divided into an examination stage, in which proposals for a provisional resolution and a motion for a final resolution are formulated, and a granting stage, in which the resolution awarding the grant is issued.
10.2. The examining body is the Manager of the Institut Ramon Llull.
10.3. The applications are analysed by an assessment committee that is appointed as part of the grant application process and includes external experts.
10.4. Once the applications have been evaluated by the assessment committee, the examining body formulates a motion for a provisional resolution on the award of the grants, based on, where applicable, the assessment committee's report and in accordance with Rule 11. The proposed recipients are required to submit additional documents, and, based on said documents, the motion for a provisional resolution and the ex officio checks made in accordance with Rule 11, the examining body formulates the motion for a final resolution on the award of the grants and raises it to the decision-making body.