Future Film Policy

The counter-proposal wants to rebuild film financing around investment capital, production incentives and international competitiveness. The plan establishes that culture shall stand free from commercial governance and that state cultural policy shall guarantee a democratically equal distribution of resources and all access to cultural activities, while the grip of market power on culture shall be broken. However, that film needs more resources speaks partly in the other direction.

• culture free from commercial governancedecisive»Det är viktigt att kulturen står fri från såväl kommersiell som politisk styrning och finns i hela landet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is important that culture stands free from both commercial and political governance and exists throughout the country.”
• equal distribution of cultural resources»En statlig kulturpolitik ska garantera en demokratiskt likvärdig fördelning av resurser över landet och alla invånares tillgång till kulturverksamhet.« (party programme ↗)“A state cultural policy shall guarantee a democratically equal distribution of resources across the country and all residents' access to cultural activities.”
• break market power over culture»Marknadsmakten har ett starkt grepp om Internet, tv och kultur.« (party programme ↗)“Market power has a strong grip on the Internet, TV and culture.”
• culture has been impoverished»Även kulturen och idrotten har utarmats när skolbibliotek läggs ned, simskolan blivit dyrare och biografer finns på färre orter.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Even culture and sports have been impoverished when school libraries are closed, swimming pools have become more expensive and cinemas exist in fewer places.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme requires that society supports cultural life and gives artists real opportunities to meet their audience, and that institutions for professional cultural life exist throughout the country. The election manifesto wishes for a living, free and independent cultural life. A renewed approach to financing Swedish film, with production incentives and cooperation with regional film funds, is a means for these explicit commitments in a changed distribution reality.

• society should support cultural lifedecisive»Samhället ska stödja kulturlivet och ge konstnärer inom alla konstarter reella möjligheter att utvecklas och att möta sin publik.« (party programme ↗)“Society should support cultural life and give artists in all art forms real opportunities to develop and meet their audience.”
• living and free cultural life»Sverige ska ha ett levande, fritt och obundet kulturliv som både stärker samhörigheten och utmanar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden should have a living, free and independent cultural life that both strengthens unity and challenges.”
• cultural life throughout the country»Institutioner för det professionella kulturlivet ska därför finnas över hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“Institutions for professional cultural life should therefore exist throughout the country.”
• new distribution forms»Den digitala kommunikationstekniken skapar nya förutsättningar för mötet mellan konsten och publiken.« (party programme ↗)“Digital communication technology creates new conditions for the meeting between art and audience.”

The election manifesto wants to invest in a broad recovery plan for cultural life throughout the country and improve cultural creators' economic conditions, which aligns closely with the counter-proposal's demand for an overhaul of Swedish film financing. The plan builds cultural policy on artistic freedom and diversity of expression, something that strengthened production support and collaboration with regional film funds can promote. The plan's skepticism toward valuing culture in growth terms makes support for the substantive issue, not the growth rationale.

• recovery plan for cultural lifedecisive»satsa på en bred återhämtningsplan för kulturlivet i hela landet, som omfattar både offentliga, fria, professionella och ideella aktörer.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“invest in a broad recovery plan for cultural life throughout the country, encompassing both public, independent, professional and non-profit actors.”
• better conditions for cultural creators»förbättra kulturskaparnas ekonomiska och sociala villkor och modernisera upphovsrätten så att kulturskaparnas rättigheter värnas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“improve cultural creators' economic and social conditions and modernize copyright so that cultural creators' rights are protected.”
• artistic freedom and diversity»Kulturpolitiken ska grundas på respekt för den konstnärliga friheten och yttrandefriheten och stimulera en mångfald av kulturella uttryck.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Cultural policy should be based on respect for artistic freedom and freedom of expression and stimulate a diversity of cultural expression.”
• generous spaces for creative work»Kulturpolitiken ska öppna upp generösa utrymmen för« (party programme ↗)“Cultural policy should open generous spaces for”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan makes culture throughout the country an important starting point and sees culture as a significant part of business, while capital supply is highlighted as decisive for entrepreneurship. A fresh approach to film financing with production incentives and cooperation with regional film funds is in line with this. However, the plan requires that politics keeps an arm's length distance from content, which makes the support conditional.

• culture throughout the countrydecisive»Att tillhandahålla kultur i hela landet är en viktig utgångspunkt för Centerpartiet. Kulturen ska vara fri och oberoende, idrotten jämlik och inkluderande.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“To provide culture throughout the country is an important starting point for the Centre Party. Culture shall be free and independent, sport shall be equal and inclusive.”
• cultural activities throughout the country»Statliga kulturinstitutioner ska sprida sin verksamhet i hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“State cultural institutions shall spread their activities throughout the country.”
• capital supply»Kapitalförsörjning är avgörande för många småföretag.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Capital supply is decisive for many small businesses.”
• arm's length distance from content»Politiken ska akta sig för att agera smakdomare och diktera kulturens innehåll.« (party programme ↗)“Politics shall be careful not to act as an arbiter of taste and dictate the content of culture.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan explicitly says that state film policy should be replaced by a broad industry agreement with broad participation from the industry, which is the same redesign of the financing model that the counter-proposal calls for. The plan also wants to see more funding sources for culture and good conditions for artistic creation. That the intrinsic value of culture should be valued against purely utilitarian purposes is an objection to the growth argument, but not to the redesign.

• redesign of state film policydecisive»Det statliga filmpolitiken bör ersättas av en bred« (party programme ↗)“State film policy should be replaced by a broad”
• more funding sources for culture»Fler stiftelser för kulturfinansiering ska skapas.« (party programme ↗)“More foundations for cultural funding shall be created.”
• good conditions for creation»Konstnärligt skapande av hög kvalitet ska ha goda villkor.« (party programme ↗)“Artistic creation of high quality should have good conditions.”
• intrinsic value of culture»Kulturpolitiken ska värna kulturens eget värde gentemot rena nyttoändamål.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Cultural policy should value the intrinsic value of culture against purely utilitarian purposes.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan assigns the state responsibility for a cultural infrastructure throughout the country and for the arts to have good conditions, and requires that the public actively contributes to bringing culture to the citizens. A rethink of the financing of Swedish film lies in that line. The plan at the same time rejects direct business subsidies, which limits support for production incentives.

• state cultural infrastructuredecisive»svara för det som brukar benämnas en kulturell infrastruktur, i hela landet.« (party programme ↗)“provide what is usually called a cultural infrastructure, throughout the country.”
• good conditions for the arts»Det offentliga har ansvar för att konstarterna får« (party programme ↗)“The public has responsibility for the arts to”
• culture shall reach citizens»ska inte bara garantera kulturell frihet, utan också aktivt bidra till att kulturen kommer medborgarna till« (party programme ↗)“shall not only guarantee cultural freedom, but also actively contribute to bringing culture to the citizens”
• no direct business support»Direkta företagssubventioner avvisas.« (party programme ↗)“Direct business subsidies are rejected.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan prioritises the state's core tasks and promises that state spending shall decrease; the party programme warns that public funding and political ambitions in themselves constitute a risk in cultural policy and wants to see institutions that stand free from state and politics. A fresh approach where the state provides investment capital and production incentives to the film industry goes in the opposite direction. Film policy is not addressed in the plan, so the conclusion is derived.

• risk with public cultural fundingdecisive»offentlig finansiering och politiska ambitioner utgör en risk.« (party programme ↗)“public funding and political ambitions constitute a risk.”
• decreased state spending»Statens utgifter ska minska – vi ska stoppa slöseriet med skattepengar« (2022 manifesto ↗)“State spending must decrease – we must stop the waste of tax money”
• prioritise state core tasks»Politiken har en viktig uppgift att prioritera och välja bort,« (party programme ↗)“Politics has an important task to prioritise and leave out,”
• culture free from politics»Målet ska vara självständiga institutioner som i sin verksamhet står fria från stat och politik.« (party programme ↗)“The goal must be independent institutions that in their operations stand free from state and politics.”

The counter-proposal wants to strengthen Swedish film production so that more content is created in its own language and the industry can grow as a creative business. The plan wants to create cohesion around Swedish culture and protect, preserve, and showcase Swedish culture, and simultaneously wants to provide good conditions for new business ventures and business. The commitment to reduce the state's economic control over contemporary culture, however, pulls partially in the opposite direction.

• cohesion around Swedish culturedecisive»Skapa sammanhållning kring den svenska kulturen och den nationella identiteten« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Create cohesion around Swedish culture and national identity”
• protect and showcase Swedish culture»Sverigedemokraterna vill värna, vårda och visa svensk kultur.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want to protect, preserve, and showcase Swedish culture.”
• conditions for creative industries»Skapa förutsättningar för nyföretagande och entreprenörskap« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Create conditions for new business ventures and entrepreneurship”
• reduced public cultural control»Minska det offentligas ekonomiska kontroll över samtidskulturen och mediesfären« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce the state's economic control over contemporary culture and the media sphere”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.