Swiss cinemas pass economic screen test
Cinema is an important branch of the Swiss economy, according to an official report. It creates employment and contributes more to the state than it receives in federal and cantonal subsidies.
The report, the first detailed study of the economic state of the industry, says that in 1998 tax receipts from the film industry amounted to Sfr75 million, while subsidies totalled less than half that.
It points out that 1,300 enterprises employed 4,700 full-time staff in the sector, creating indirect revenues of Sfr285 million as well as 2,400 supplementary jobs.
State subsidies are in line with the European average, and well behind France and Denmark.
In terms of film production, Switzerland shares with Denmark the highest annual per capita output in Europe of new films, producing five times more than Germany and the Netherlands.
The study says cinema attendance is also higher than the European average, even though ticket prices are generally more expensive in Switzerland.
But on a negative note, the study adds that only 2.5 per cent of audiences see Swiss-made films – compared with an average rate in Europe of 18 per cent for domestically produced movies.
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