Call for applications: Goethe-Institut International Coproduction Fund

Launched in 2016, the fund is designed to promote new working networks and approaches within a global context and to explore new forms of intercultural collaboration.

The International Coproduction Fund promotes projects of a high artistic calibre and with considerable public impact. The results of the collaborative efforts are to be presented in a professional setting abroad, if possible also in Germany. An application should include a feasible financial plan that, in addition to third-party funding, should show the substantial contributions of all the project partners involved. The amount of funding requested should not exceed €25 000.

The joint application, which must be submitted by the foreign partner (living and working abroad), must show clearly that good working contacts already exist between the partners and that both parties are interested in putting together a dialogue-oriented production. As part of the application, it is expected to contact the local Goethe-Institut before submitting the project. The local Goethe-Institut can also assist with questions regarding the development of the application.

Goethe-Institut welcomes projects between German and non-European partners – in particular from transition countries such as as Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Botswana, eSwatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa, among others. The full list of transition countries is available here.

The project partners have the task of doing active, broad-based public-relations work, in which the support from Goethe Institut’s International Coproduction Fund should always be mentioned. Both partners should pay close attention to documenting the progress of the project with photos, videos, press reports and other modes of display, in order to facilitate a presentation of the project on the website of the International Coproduction Fund.

Interested applicants should apply here before 21 April CET.

Award criteria

• The projects submitted should embrace only the performing arts (no outright film or exhibition projects).
• Expected artistic quality of the project.
• Relevance of the participating artists in their respective scenes.
• Budget indicating project partners’ own contributions/third-party funds and a solid financial plan.
• A balanced project partnership based on the artistic collaboration, not dominated by one partner.
• Realisation of at least one performance outside Germany, if possible also one in Germany.
• Projects between German and non-European partners, especially from transition countries, will be preferred (applications from Austria and Switzerland cannot be considered).
• Applications for guest performance funding are not valid.
• The project duration has to be within 24 months.

Required documents

• Participants should present a project in the Project Description (max two pages long). Describe the nature and scale of the production and discuss the artistic idea, aims and objectives, and how they intend to achieve them by collaborating with their coproduction partners.
• Participants should present their production planning in the schedule, including a development and rehearsal stage, premiere date(s) and any planned guest appearances.
• A profile describing the ensemble/artists.
• A list of all participants indicating each person’s function in the project and the place where they live.
• In a conclusive and itemised Overall Financial Budget, specify all income and expenses in connection with the production. All amounts are to be stated in Euros.

“With the International Coproduction Fund, Goethe-Institut would like to support the unrestricted international and intercultural exchange of artists and their ideas,” Goethe-Institut said. “The facilitation of such an exchange and the networking it spawns among the various players are equally as important as the productions resulting from the project.”

View the original call here.