Suomen elokuvasäätiö

What Suomen elokuvasäätiö does

Suomen elokuvasäätiö (the Finnish Film Foundation) is a Helsinki-based non-profit foundation established in 1969 that funds and promotes Finnish film production, exhibition, and distribution. Its primary activity is distributing public funding received from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture to Finnish film productions, including feature films, documentaries, short films, and series. The foundation runs multiple grant programs covering production, script development, marketing and distribution support, international promotion, and cultural export funding, making hundreds of funding decisions annually across multiple decision meetings.

The foundation operates an online grant application system (tukihakemusjärjestelmä), publishes annual Facts & Figures on Finnish cinema admissions, and maintains the NES Environmental Standard for audiovisual productions. It also directly operates Kino K13, a cinema located at Katajanokanlaituri 11 A in Helsinki, which offers public screenings, short film programs, school and kindergarten screenings, cinema rentals, and accessibility features such as audio description, induction loop, and wheelchair spaces.

The foundation's revenue model is structurally that of a public funding intermediary rather than a commercial enterprise. It receives government-backed appropriations and redistributes them as grants; Kino K13 generates incremental revenue from cinema rentals and ticket sales. It serves film production companies, distributors, individual screenwriters and directors, and international co-production partners, with no named individual customer accounting for a meaningful share of activity. Partnerships span Nordic film institutes, the New Dawn Fund, Creative Europe / Media Desk Finland, Espoo Ciné, Riga International Film Festival, and the MOIN / Five Nordics consortium.

Name

Suomen elokuvasäätiö

Legal name

Suomen elokuvasäätiö

Website

https://ses.fi

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film Funding and Cultural Grants

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution (7829)

akta.pro primary industry

Grant Funding & Public/Nonprofit Financing (MPADAAAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Film production funding
• Cinema venue operations
• Script development grants
• Audiovisual industry support
• International co-productions

Headquarters

HQ city

Helsinki

HQ country

Finland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Film Production Funding: The foundation distributes public funding to Finnish film productions including feature films, documentaries, short films, and series. Funding comes from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. The foundation makes hundreds of funding decisions annually, distributing millions of euros in production support, script development grants, marketing support, and international distribution funding.
2. Kino K13 Cinema Operations: The foundation operates Kino K13, a cinema in Helsinki that rents out facilities and hosts screenings including public programs, short film screenings, and school/group screenings. Revenue comes from cinema rentals and ticket sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Suomen elokuvasäätiö (Finnish Film Foundation) is a statutory non-profit foundation that distributes public funding from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture to Finnish film productions, including feature films, documentaries, short films, and series. It awards production grants, script development scholarships, distribution and marketing support, international promotion assistance, and cultural export funding, while also operating Kino K13 cinema in Helsinki for public screenings and rentals.

Product overview

Suomen elokuvasäätiö (Finnish Film Foundation) operates as a single unified film funding organization rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering is providing financial support and grants to Finnish film productions. Subsidiary offerings include Kino K13 cinema operations, an online grant application system, film statistics and research publications, the NES environmental standard for productions, and international activities support services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Kino K13: A cinema venue operated by the Finnish Film Foundation located in Helsinki, offering screenings and equipment rentals

Quantifiable outcome

• Finnish domestic films captured 28.4% of total cinema admissions in 2026

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nordic Film Institutes (DFI, IFC, NFI, SFI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Nordic film institutes collaborate on the Nordic documentary co-production fund, accepting applications for Nordic documentary projects. The institutes work together with public broadcasters (DR, NRK, SVT, YLE) on joint funding initiatives.
• New Dawn FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA European-wide funding initiative promoting gender equality in the film industry. Nine European public film funders are involved in the initial phase. The fund supports fiction, documentary, and animation projects that align with its mission.
• Creative Europe / Media Desk FinlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with Creative Europe / Media Desk Finland to support Finnish filmmakers in accessing European funding programs and international opportunities.
• Espoo Ciné FestivalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation supports the Crip Ciné program through film culture promotion funding. This initiative promotes diverse and sustainable representation of disability in cinema and more accessible film culture.
• Riga International Film FestivalminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe Riga International Film Festival has invited Finland as the guest country for the SHORT RIGA event's Test Screenings program. Finnish short film projects can apply to participate in the October event in Latvia.
• MOIN Film Fund and Five NordicsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNordic NEST program collaboration between MOIN Film Fund and Five Nordics. The second edition is being organized with a start event at Filmfest Hamburg in autumn. Finnish projects can compete for development funding.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Icelandic Film Centre (Kvikmyndamiðstöð Íslands): Iceland's national film funding body operating under similar statutory logic, distributing production grants and supporting international co-productions alongside Nordic partners including SES.
• Norwegian Film Institute (NFI): Norway's statutory film funder and partner in the Nordic Film Institutes documentary fund. Closely comparable mandate covering production grants, development, distribution, and international promotion.
• Swedish Film Institute (Svenska Filminstitutet): Sweden's national film funding agency with an essentially identical mandate: distributing public funds for production, distribution, and exhibition, and operating cinemas. Co-funds Nordic initiatives alongside SES.
• BFI (British Film Institute): UK's national film agency with statutory responsibility for film funding, heritage, audience development, and education — comparable to SES in combining grantmaking with public-facing cultural programming.
• Danish Film Institute (DFI): Denmark's national film funding and cultural-heritage body, co-lead in the Nordic Film Institutes documentary fund. Comparable production-funding, distribution-support, and cinema/exhibition operations.
• German Films: Germany's national body for promoting German films internationally, including distribution support and festival presence — a narrower but directly comparable mandate in international film funding/promotion.
• Institut français: France's public operator for French cultural promotion abroad, including film/audiovisual export support, comparable to SES's cultural export and international co-production funding activities.

Others

• Eurimages: Council of Europe's pan-European co-production fund that Finnish producers access with SES backing. Functions as an adjacent funding stream rather than a direct competitor.
• Espoo Ciné Festival: Recipient of SES film-culture promotion funding (specifically for the Crip Ciné accessibility program). Comparable ecosystem participant but operates as a festival rather than a funding body.

Emerging players

• Creative Europe / MEDIA Desk Finland: EU-level audiovisual funding program operating in part through national MEDIA desks; complements SES by providing pan-European co-production and distribution support, and lists SES as a Finnish partner.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/elokuvasaatio
• Facebookfacebook.com/elokuvasaatio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Suomen elokuvasäätiö