The Leonese Institute of Culture announces grants for rural cinemas

The Leonese Institute of Culture (ILC), a body dependent on the Provincial Council of León, has announced grants intended to finance the general operating expenses of cinema exhibition halls located in municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants in the province. The agreement of the Governing Council, adopted on September 25, 2026, is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of León no. 197, of October 16, 2026, with the official reference BOP-LE-2026-197003 and the National Grants Database code BDNS 935182.

The call is processed in an advance manner and under a competitive bidding regime, in accordance with articles 17.3.b and 20.8.a of the General Grants Law 38/2003, of November 17. Its purpose is to encourage the maintenance of stable cinematographic activity in rural areas and guarantee the population’s access to audiovisual culture.

The regulatory bases are those approved by agreement of the Plenary of the Council of León on February 27, 2008, published in the BOP no. 45/2008, of March 5, together with the General Grants Ordinance approved by the Plenary on July 27, 2022 (BOP no. 206, of October 27, 2022). The full text can be consulted on the ILC website and on the state grants portal.

Amount: up to 80% of the expenditure and 5,000 euros per beneficiary

The grant may reach up to 80% of the eligible expenditure, with a maximum limit of 5,000 euros per beneficiary. The applicant must justify the entirety of the submitted budget to receive the granted aid.

The execution period for the subsidized activity spans from November 1, 2025, to November 15, 2026.

City Councils and private owners with stable programming

The following may obtain beneficiary status:

• City councils of municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants in the province of León that own cinema halls.
• Natural or legal persons who own cinema halls open to the public in those municipalities, regardless of the ownership of the premises.

In both cases, it is required to have stable cinematographic programming—that is, at least two monthly screenings (24 annually)—not fall under the exclusions of article 13 of the General Grants Law, and comply with base 3 of the regulatory bases.

Scale: sessions, population, European cinema, and accessibility

The award is resolved using objective criteria up to a maximum of 100 points:

• Up to 30 points for the number of sessions: more than 100 sessions, 30 points; from 51 to 100, 20; from 25 to 50, 10; fewer than 25, none.
• Up to 20 points for the municipality’s population according to the Municipal Register as of January 1, 2025: fewer than 500 inhabitants, 20 points; from 501 to 1,000, 10; from 1,001 to 20,000, 5.
• Up to 15 points for European, Spanish, or independent cinema programming: at least 10 screenings, 15 points; between 5 and 9, 10.
• Up to 15 points for complementary activities (film forums, classic cinema, school cinema, colloquiums, or festivals): at least 10 activities, 15 points; between 5 and 9, 10; between 2 and 4, 5.
• Up to 10 points for continuity of activity: more than three weekly sessions, 10 points; between one and three, 5.
• 10 points for the implementation of any accessibility and inclusion action (sensory, physical, or others).

Deadlines, justification, and dissemination commitments

The deadline for submitting applications is 20 business days starting from the day following the publication of the summary in the BOP of León. The justification for compliance with the conditions and objectives shall be carried out until December 15, 2026, through the payment request annexes, the economic report, the activity report, and the third-party form, among other documents.

Beneficiaries must make express mention of the collaboration of the Diputación de León through the ILC, place the grant agreement in the hall, include this collaboration in their advertising, and project the ILC documentary trailer before each cinema session. The agreement appears signed by the president of the ILC in León, on October 7, 2026.

The call comes at a time of fragility for cinema halls in rural areas, many of which are sustained by city councils or private managers with very narrow margins. The ILC grants allow for the coverage of general operating expenses and give special priority to the smallest municipalities and halls with the highest activity, so that their impact is concentrated in the centers where the screen is the main means of access to audiovisual culture.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of León, no. 197, October 16, 2026, Local Administration, pp. 17-21 (official reference: BOP-LE-2026-197003).