BNP Paribas Fortis also finances film and theatre arts

Television series such as Le petit Nicolas and The Smurfs, feature films including Spider in the Web and Where is Anne Frank?, musical shows such as Daens, 40-45 and Aladdin: in order to bring these productions to the audience, a great deal of work was required behind the scenes to raise the necessary funds. In 2019 BNP Paribas Fortis Film Finance invested, in conjunction with its several hundred clients, no less than €26.5 million in the sector, an increase of close to 15% on 2018.

Support for a diverse range of entertainment ventures

In addition to these major productions, several concert series by the Flanders Symphony Orchestra, projects by the Flanders Opera Ballet, including the opera Rusalka, and theatre performances by the Ghent National Theatre have been financed through this channel.  The funds raised were evenly distributed between audio-visual and live performance works.

A remarkable year

Since it was set up in 2008, the Bank’s cultural finance subsidiary has backed over 300 productions, investing a total of €301.5 million on behalf of 2,300 Belgian firms.

“We saw a fall in funds raised In 2018, mainly due to unintended effects of the government’s tax shift policy. The new surge in 2019 is a remarkable success in a market environment where the funds raised were still in strong decline right until November,” points out Guy Pollentier, Head of BNP Paribas Fortis Film Finance, adding: “The outlook for 2020 is uncertain, given that phase two of the tax shift is likely to lead to a reduction in the amount injected by each investor. The consequences of the coronavirus crisis will also no doubt have an effect.”