Armenia’s Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan has presented the draft 2027 state budget, which allocates AMD 1.097 billion to the Cinematography Programme. This is AMD 279 million, or around 20.3%, less than the amount approved for 2026.
While presenting the government’s priorities in culture, Andreasyan also highlighted cinematography and its economic potential.
“I would also like to address the cinematography sector, the film sector, which has the potential to become a real industry,” Andreasyan said.
Under the approved 2026 budget, total funding for the Cinematography Programme stands at AMD 1.377 billion. The 2027 draft provides AMD 1.098 billion, a difference of AMD 279 million.
The main allocation for film production remains unchanged. The Film Production measure is set to receive AMD 478.882 million in 2027, the same amount as in 2026. Another AMD 81.059 million is planned for the preservation of film, photo and audio collections, while AMD 204.515 million is allocated to the implementation of film programmes. These two allocations also remain at their 2026 levels.
During her presentation, Andreasyan also highlighted the cash rebate mechanism for investments in film production.
“An important tool in this area is the cash rebate mechanism for investments in film production, which is already helping to bring new film projects to Armenia,” the minister said.
According to Andreasyan, 11 film applications have been submitted. More than AMD 100 million in investment rebates has already been paid for five of them, while payments for the remaining applications are expected to be made during the current year.
The 2027 draft budget allocates AMD 124.335 million for the film production investment rebate mechanism, unchanged from the amount approved for 2026.
At the same time, funding for the Promotion of Cinema measure is set to increase by AMD 111 million. The allocation rises from AMD 97.845 million in 2026 to AMD 208.845 million in the 2027 draft.
Compared with the 2026 budget, two separate measures are no longer included in the 2027 draft: the Creation of a Film City, which received AMD 360 million, and Capital Formation, which received AMD 30 million. Together, the two measures accounted for AMD 390 million.
The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports is expected to have a total budget of around AMD 435.9 billion in 2027. More than 80% of that amount — around AMD 349.2 billion — is allocated to education programmes. Cultural programmes are set to receive around AMD 24 billion, or about 5.5% of the ministry’s total budget.
Around AMD 30.7 billion, or 7.1% of the total budget, is allocated to science programmes. Sports is set to receive AMD 25.2 billion, or 5.8%, while youth programmes account for around AMD 3.3 billion, or 0.75%.
The approximately AMD 1.1 billion planned for cinematography represents around 4.6% of total funding for cultural programmes and about 0.25% of the ministry’s entire budget.
KinoPress previously reported that Armenia’s 2026 cinematography budget changed between the draft and final approval stages. The initial draft proposed around AMD 884 million, while the final approved budget increased to AMD 1.377 billion.
The AMD 1.098 billion figure for 2027 is also, at this stage, part of the draft state budget and may change before final approval.
