Last year, Romania launched the Office for Film and Cultural Investments (OFIC) in a bid to restructure and relaunch the country’s cash rebate program, suspended in 2021 due to unresolved payment requests for projects submitted in the 2018, 2019, and 2020 calls.
Less than a year on and a mere two hours after recently elected president Nicusor Dan nominated Ilie Bolojan as the country’s new prime minister, industry leaders gathered at the Transilvania International Film Festival — the country’s most prominent film event — to discuss the results of the reshaping, the need to regain the trust of the international industry, and the future of the rebate.
“Last year, we managed to pay 85% of the outstanding debts,” said Valentin Savu, manager at OFIC. “We then relaunched the scheme, starting with an app that digitizes all applications. You now get [shooting] certificates within 30 days, and the film commission has access to all project details online. We’ve had a lot of progress, and some trust has been regained, which can be seen in the more than 50 projects we have supported since the end of July.”
As it stands, the cash rebate program offers returns of 30% of expenditure (down from the original program’s 35%), covering eligible expenses incurred in Romania and the total production costs of audiovisual works, excluding pre-production expenses and promotional/distribution costs. The new program has a budget of up to €55 million per year to support productions to shoot in Romania, with the total budget for the period between 2024-2026 sitting at an estimated €122 million.
OFIC can sign financing agreements until the end of 2026 and make reimbursements until the end of 2028, with the possibility of prolonging the scheme next year or creating a new one from scratch. “We’ll get together and find the best way to do it,” says Savu.
Alien Film’s Iuliana Tarnovețchi, who worked on high-profile international productions in Romania such as “Killing Eve” and national projects such as “Otto The Barbarian,” emphasized how the success of the new programme was only possible “with the support of all producers and filmmakers in Romania.”
“The last four years were very difficult for us,” she added. “I know how much we fought and how much we worked day and night to keep up the hope and try to convince people in government what this program means to Romania and our industry. We are a small country with a very professional industry, and we don’t want people to go away. My hope is that whoever is coming into place now to rule this country to just leave us alone to do what we know best. They will benefit from every single thing we’ll do because we are still one of the most powerful marketing tools this country has to build a good reputation.”
Tarnovețchi was reserved when it came to sharing any details, but spoke at length about a major international production she is currently working on with an equally major American studio, which had last shot in Romania over two decades ago. Shooting is scheduled to start in August, with the project benefiting from the new rebate system. “I hope no one in this chain will disappoint [this studio], because it is one of the biggest film producing companies in the world. I’m really grateful, and it’s a great experience for me to work on this project. I’m enjoying calling people and asking if they want to work with me on a film because I’ve wanted many years to be able to do so.”
“I hope this film will bring more productions to Romania,” she added. “I have more films in discussions with this partner, so I know that, if this film works, they will come back. And all of you will benefit from someone trusting us, coming to Romania, and promoting the country.”
Courtesy of Rafa Sales Ross
Director and producer Tudor Giurgiu, also the head of TIFF, highlighted how surprised he was at the ease of the new application process, which he believes will ease the life of not only local producers but international companies wanting to take advantage of the rebate. The producer also commented on the recent elections, stating that he hopes the new cabinet, which is to be appointed soon, will continue to support the program. “We hope that now they’ve paid all the debts, things will roll like a snowball. Besides, our producers have been very much supported by international producers, mostly American, British and French, who pushed with the previous government for the scheme to continue.”
However, Giurgiu pointed out the program currently focuses too heavily on serialized projects, urging the team running the initiative to shift the primary focus to film. “I think it also helps because of the co-production landscape, where getting funds in Europe is becoming more and more competitive.”
All panellists seemed positive on the future of the scheme, with Iulia Popovici, from the Romanian Film Office, stating that there are plans in place to increase the rebate to 40% in the near future to make Romania able to compete with aggressive rebate initiatives from neighboring countries like Hungary, which has hosted several high-profile shoots in the last year, including Oscar-winning “The Brutalist” and “F1: The Movie.” “In order to remain competitive, you need to analyze what we need to do to increase the attractiveness for international producers to come to Romania,” she said.
“This scheme survived a near death attempt and a lot of injuries,” continued Popovici. “We are all here to prove that if we put our minds together we can work better than any medical team on American television. Of course there are risks, I won’t pretend that you don’t know we are on a political and financial crisis on a national level, but that doesnt have a direct impact on the scheme. There is a general promise that this will continue at the best base and the best form possible on all human limits,” she concluded.
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