1
Cinema Digitisation Scheme
Application for the Digitisation of Cinema Screens
Issue Date: November 2013
This form is to be filled by enterprises that wish to benefit from the Cinema Digitisation Scheme related to the digital transition of cinema screens, to the exclusion of the cost of the digital projector and server.
NOTES:
- Before filling in this form, applicants should read the Cinema Digitisation Scheme Guidelines that are published on the websites of the Ministry for Finance and the Ministry for Tourism.
- This Application Form and any attached documents will be treated as confidential throughout and after the project appraisal process.
- Only Application Forms which are complete and that include all relevant supporting documents will be evaluated.
- Only type-written application forms will be accepted. Should the application be hand-written or should the format of the application form be altered, the application will not be evaluated.
- All responses must be clearly explained and substantiated.
- Kindly deposit 1 hard copy of your application in a sealed envelope marked as “CINEMA DIGITISATION SCHEME” to:
Culture and Audiovisual Unit
Office of the Permanent Secretary
Parliamentary Secretariat for Culture and Local Government
Ministry for Tourism
Auberge d’Italie
Merchants Street
Valletta
Checklist
I.Official Forms:
Application forms duly completed and signed.
II. Information concerning the action
Proof of paid admissions for the last 3 years.
Audited Financial Reports of the last 3 years.
At least 3 quotations obtained for each submission.
A strategic plan outlining an audience development programme aimed towards market diversification, increased attendance and programming capacity.
A guarantee that should the source of co-financing declared in the budget is not confirmed, it undertakes to guarantee financial cover for this action.
III.Identification of the applicantcompany
Copy of the organisation’s registration certificate from the Malta Financial Services Authority (incl. any amendment), showing the company's registration number, full legal title, registered address, date and place of registration OR copy of organisation’s registration certificate from the Commissioner of Voluntary Organisations or the Co-operatives Board.
A copy of the complete up-to-date list of company directors / share holders / board members, indicating their function and nationality.
If the name of the company's legal representative does not appear on the official registration documentsprovided, a proof of his/her nomination is also required (e.g.signed Board minutes).
The company statute.
If the signatory of any agreement with the Ministry is not the statutory legal representative, a letter of proxy (signed by the statutory legal representative or a member of the board) giving him the authority to sign agreements with the Agency on the organisation’s behalf is required.
A copy of the VAT registration including the VAT number.
1. Applicant Details
1.1 Name of ApplicantThis section should specify the legal name of the organisation as defined in the Memorandum of Articles or Statute.
1.2 Address of Applicant
The address inserted here will be used to address any mail correspondence to the Applicant.
1.3 Applicant’s Telephone Number
1.4 Applicant’s e-mail
1.5 VAT number
The applicant’s VAT number, as per VAT Certificate, relating to the operation of activities.
1.6 Legal Form of Applicant
The legal form of the Applicant’s business entity may be co-operative, voluntary organisation, registered company, or partnership
A Co-operative society defined as: an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically owned enterprise.
A Voluntary Organisation, defined as: an autonomous, non-profit, voluntary organisation in line with the Voluntary Organisations Act (Act XXII of 2007 and The Second Schedule of the Civil Code (Act XIII of 2007).
A registered company defined as: limited liability companies registered with the Malta Financial Services Authority, which also includes commercial partnerships.
A Partnership, defined as: a formal agreement between two or more parties that have agreed to work together in the pursuit of common goals.
1.7 Registration Number
The registration number is the official registration number of the co-operative, company or partnership as defined in the Companies Act – Chapter 387 of the Laws of Malta or the Voluntary Organisation number issued by the Commissioner of Voluntary Organisations.
1.8 Date established
This is the date the organisation was first established.
1.9 If different from the date listed above, the date of when the cinema operation was first established.
1.10Type of organisation
European company
Company owned, whether directly or by majority participation, by nationals of the European Union and registered to operate cinemas in the Malta. The screening of films should be the principal activity of the applicant or division of the applicant.
Independent cinema operator
A company, association or organisation with a single or several screens based in Malta. The screening of films should be the principal activity of the applicant or division of the applicant.
1.11 Please provide a description of the Applicant’s core business activities
The applicant is required to provide a background description of the enterprise and its operations.
1.12 Employees
Please provide the number of full-time and part-time employees in the enterprise. If the operation of cinemas is one of a number of activities registered under the enterprise, please indicate the number of full-time and part-time employees working directly in the operation of cinemas.
1.13 EU funding
List any income received through EU grants from 2010 to 2013
Name of funding programme/ Scheme / Year awarded / Name of managing authority / Grant in €2. Contact Person
2.1. Contact Person2.2 Position held within the enterprise
2.3 Telephone Number/s
2.4 e-mail
3. Project Description
3.1 Name of the cinema3.2 The cinema is open: year-round the following months: ......
3.3 Location
CityWebsite address
3.4 Description of the cinema
Number of screens in the cinema:
Please detail:
Screening roomname or number / Capacity / Existing screening equipment / Screen size
(in meters) / Number of screenings in 2012
1.
2.
...
3.5 Number of screenings and admissions
2010 / 2011Number of screenings
Number of admissions
3.6 Programming
Please list all the films presented in 2012
Title ( + international title if different) / Nationalityof the film
(*) / Production
Year (*) / Date of first screening / Nr of
screenings / Total
Admissions
1.
2.
...
(*) the nationality of films and production year as indicated in the MEDIA Film Database
3.7 Outline of plans to actively promote national and European film in your programming.4. Request form
Please note that one form per screen must be included.
Support is requested for:
4.1 Screening room name and/or number4.2 Description of existing screening equipment
4.3 Description of proposed screening equipment
4.4 Details of the supplier
A minimum of three quotations must be obtained to identify the most advantageous offer and included in the application.
Applicants are requested to provide a justification for their selection.
4.5 BUDGET / FINANCING (*)
Items / Cost / Own Funds / Requested
TOTAL
Percentage of investment (not exceeding schedule below)
(*) Calculating the co-financing rate for the undertaking:
Large enterprise: 30% investment or a maximum €15,000 per screen, whichever is lowest; or
Medium Enterprise: 40% investment or a maximum €20,000 per screen, whichever is lowest; or
Small/ Micro Enterprise: 50% investment or a maximum €25,000 per screen, whichever is lowest
For the purpose of this application the term ‘undertaking’ includes also companies which fall under the direct or indirect ownership or control of the same ultimate parent company, as well as relevant ‘partner’ and ‘linked’ enterprises.
5. Total budget, if application is requesting support for more than one screen.
BUDGET / FINANCING (*)Cinema Name/ Number / Cost / Own Funds € / Requested €
TOTAL
Percentage of investment
6. Statement of intent
NAME of ORGANISATION:
CINEMA NAME:
The applicant organisation hereby declares that in the eventuality of receiving a grant for cinema digitisation, it agrees to:
Offer 1000 tickets, free of charge, per digitised screen every year to schools, for a 5 year period, to be used in the mornings during one week to be set annually by exhibitors with a list of films, with a preference to European film, provided by KRS and will be split amongst theatres according to seating capacity. The festival will be programmed by a film programmer specialised in the field and will include an accompanying film literacy programme with the Education Department and the Ministry responsible for Culture, the Maltese film industry and other audiovisual partners.
2. Offer 350 tickets per digitised screen every year, free of charge, to institutions whose aim to assist and care for vulnerable groups. These can be redeemed from Monday to Friday and will be administered through applications to the Maltese film distribution company.
3.Commit to reduce the price of film screenings for schools from the exhibitors list to €2.50 per person.
4.Cap the price per screening for Senior Citizens for organised activities by Local Councils or homes for the elderly with a minimum of 20 people at a maximum of €3 per person for normal running films from Monday to Friday for shows starting before 6pm.
5.Actively promote national and European film as an integral component of their programming.
6. Submit a yearly report for a 5-year period outlining how the above commitments (1 to 5) have been honoured.
7. Accept the right of the Fund Manager to request a refund of up to 4% of the allocated grant per screen for each commitment (1 to 5) that was not fully adhered to during the year under review.
8. Provide the Ministry for Finance, the Parliamentary Secretariat for Culture and Local Government and the Office of National Statistics, with the necessary data for the compilation of yearly cinema statistics.
Name of legal representative:Date:
Signature of legal representative:
7. Application - declaration on the honour
NAME OF ORGANISATION:
CINEMA NAME:
The applicant company hereby confirms:
- that it is an independent cinema operator, operating under the same company name and that the screening of films is its principal activity OR a European Company owned, whether directly or by majority participation, by nationals of the European Union and registered to operate cinemas in the Malta. The screening of films should be the principal activity of the applicant or division of the applicant;
- that it has been open to the public for a minimum of 3 years;
- that it possesses a ticketing and entry declaration system;
- that it will not receive a projector from a third party integrator as a result of signing a VPF deal;
- that it is familiar with the Cinema Digitisation Guidelines and that it accepts and observes the conditions and procedures specified therein;
- that the information contained in this application form are true and verifiable;
- that the person signing this application has been duly authorised by the company to do so;
- that the company has the financial and operational capacity to complete the proposed action;
- that it is not in financial difficulty within the meaning of the Community Guidelines on State Aid for Rescuing and Restructuring Firms in Difficulty.
Name of legal representative:Date:
Signature of legal representative:
Annex 1
State Aid Declaration (De Minimis)
------Cinema Digitisation Scheme ------
If the submitted application is approved, the project will benefit from de minimis State aid in line with Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1998/2006 of 15 December 2006 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to de minimis aid.
Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1998/2006 allows an undertaking to receive an aggregate maximum amount of de minimis aid of €200,000 under all de minimis aid measures, over a period of three fiscal years. This aggregate maximum threshold applies in principle to all economic sectors with the exception of the road transport sectorfor which a lower threshold of €100,000 over a period of three consecutive fiscal years applies. The agriculture and fisheries sectors are subject to different thresholds and criteria. For the purpose of this declaration the term ‘undertaking’ includes also companies which fall under the direct or indirect ownership or control of the same ultimate parent company, as well as relevant ‘partner’ and ‘linked’ enterprises as defined in Annex I of Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/2008. Moreover ‘fiscal year’ means the fiscal year as used for tax purposes by the undertaking concerned.
This maximum threshold would include all State aid granted under this scheme and any other State aid measure granted under the de minimis rule. Any de minimis aid received in excess of the established threshold will have to be recovered, with interest, from the undertaking receiving the aid.
The following is an indicative list of the possible forms of State aid:
- Grants from public bodies
- Loans or loan guarantees at favourable rates
- Tax benefits
- Waiving or deferral of fees or interest normally due
- Marketing and advertising assistance
- Consultancy, training and other support provided either free or at a reduced rate
- Aid for investment in environmental projects or research and development assistance
- Purchase, rent or lease of immovable property at less than market rate.
Potentially any assistance from a public body may constitute State aid. Should you have any doubts whether any public assistance received is de minimis aid, you should contact the agency or department from which the assistance was received in order to ascertain this.
Declaration
I declare that a comprehensive amount of de minimis aid received to date during the current fiscal year and the previous two fiscal years is:
Fiscal Year 2011 / Fiscal Year 2012 / Fiscal Year2013 / TOTAL€ / € / € / €
A breakdown of the source, type and amount of all de minimis aid received as well as that applied for from any State aid grantor, is presented overleaf.
______
Business Undertaking (Full Legal Name) VAT Registration Number
______
Name and Surname (BLOCK CAPITALS) Position in Establishment
______
Signature Date
Detailed information concerning applicable State aid under the de minimis rule.
(Note: Information should include both State aid received as well as applications for de minimis State aid still pending approval by potential grantors)
Date
/Source/Grantor
/ Type of State Aid /Amount in €
Eg: 2/01/2011 / Central Government / Soft Loan Scheme / 10,0001