Netflix has announced a relief fund to support film and television production workers Upon establishment of this fund, which is managed by Visual Industry Promotion Organization (VIPO), Netflix is contributing approximately JPY 100 million of the Netflix support fund May.22.2020

On May 22nd, Netflix announced the establishment of the “Netflix Film and Television Production Workers Relief Fund”, created to help domestic film and television production workers in Japan, and the placement of VIPO in charge of its management.
Due to the spread of COVID-19, many films and television shows throughout the world have been forced to delay or stop production.
In response to these circumstances, Netflix has established the “Netflix Film and Television Production Workers Relief Fund” within VIPO to provide short term support to film and television production workers in Japan whose livelihoods have been severely impacted, and has entrusted the same organization with all aspects of its administration from recruiting to distributing funds.
Furthermore, upon establishment of this relief fund, Netflix is donating to VIPO roughly JPY 100 million from the fund set up to support creative industry workers, which was announced in March of this year.

Director Kaata Sakamoto of the Netflix Content Acquisition Dept., commented, “Our mission in content creation is to provide works that bring people joy. It is only because of Japan’s production workers that we have been able to continue to provide so much excellent content to Netflix subscribers. We hope that, with VIPO’s cooperation, these efforts will help support film and television workers that have been severely impacted during this time.”

VIPO Deputy Secretary General Toshifumi Makita commented, “The Visual Industry Promotion Organization (VIPO) approves of the intentions of Netflix, Inc.’s relief fund, and we will handle the administrative duties thereof. We hope that this makes even just a small difference for the production workers affected by these difficult circumstances.”

As a general rule, freelancers and staff that fall into the category of main staff, assistants, coordinators, etc., belonging to any production or engineering department may apply for relief funds. Applications will be accepted through the online form that will be posted on the relief fund website (https://netflix.vipo.or.jp/) in the next few days. At a later date the VIPO Funding Office intends to make an announcement with details regarding how to apply and eligibility.

Netflix K.K. is the Japanese subsidiary of the film company Netflix Studios, LLC, a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA).