As countries improve tax incentives and develop larger numbers of qualified crews and state-of-the-art facilities, Europe has become a buzzing international production hub for film and TV. With a wealth of options to choose from, how are line producers deciding where to shoot? And how are service providers attracting clients?
“It doesn’t take a lot of brain power to realize that it’s easy to move now,” says producer Rick McCallum, co-founder of Prague-based production company Film United. “For years, especially in England and the U.S., people were horrified to try shooting in Central or Eastern Europe because of the language and currency differences but now there are generous incentive programs and cheaper labor costs. If you can save 20% on your budget, you move.”
The Czech Republic is one of the prime European destinations for international shoots, with McCallum adding that “crew costs easily 25 to 30% less than most Western European countries.” Plus, the local tax rebate, which is one of the swiftest in the region with an eight- to 10-week processing window, has now been increased to 25%, which the producer says “makes the country a little bit more competitive against Hungary at 30%.”
Hungary, which pioneered tax incentive schemes by introducing its first rebate in 2003 to encourage local film production, has been subjected to very welcome industry attention this year. Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist,” Pablo Larraín’s “Maria” and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” are among the high-profile films recently shot in the country.
Adam Goodman of Budapest-based Mid Atlantic Films says that Hungary “always sold itself” and that if anything, the problem is capacity. “It’s a good problem to have. We try not to take more than we can support and overrepresent what the city can do but the landscape looks good for 2025. We already have four greenlit shows and the tax incentive remains robust.”
Goodman highlights that while the tax incentive in the country is currently at 30%, “you have a foreign spend uplift and the combination of your local spend and your foreign spending uplift is an effective incentive of 37.5%.” This puts the country in a great position when it comes to neighboring competitors, with the producer adding that “there will always be cheaper places to make movies, but we have the stages, the support and the infrastructure to produce big films and shows.”
This combination of robust incentives and infrastructure is what attracted Larraín to shoot “Maria” in Hungary after having shot “Spencer” in Germany. Producer Janine Jackowski of Berlin-based Komplizen Film says that the Chilean director “would have loved to shoot ‘Maria’ in Germany but the regional support in the country is at 16% while Hungary is at 30%.”
“We are fighting very hard in Germany to get a new tax incentive system that we hope will be in place at the beginning of next year,” adds Jackowski. “We are talking about 30%, which is the minimum you need to stay competitive in Europe. If you have more than a 10% difference between countries, there is no way you can compete.”
Head of production at Stillking Films David Minkowski echoes that sentiment, saying that “even a 5% difference in a rebate will push a movie to shoot in a territory that might not otherwise have been the first creative choice.” Stillking has remained on top of popular up-and-coming shooting destinations for over 30 years, with offices in cities like Prague, Malaga, Belgrade, Budapest and London.
“A lot of studios have been built at the same time as the streamers began spending less. Those two things in combination meant there was more studio space available than required, which means people look for the best places and best value,” adds Stillking managing director Matthew Stillman.
“Best value is a combination of very good, well-funded, well-structured rebate schemes and just sensible local costs. And where you get the combination of those two things, those places are very popular.”
“Buyers aren’t buying as much and producers aren’t producing as much as they used to,” adds Minkowski. “This is why there is an extra focus on value for shooting. While that has always been true, I would say it is twice as important right now.”
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