“Costs are 20-30 percent below Hungary and Czech Republic,” adds Roxana Crisan, PR Manager for MediaPro Studios, the largest film studio complex in the country, located just northwest of Bucharest. There are no incentives in Romania, but labor costs for multi-lingual non-union crew are also cheaper than their closest competitors. “There are discussions taking place but at present there are no government tax incentives to shoot in Romania,” explains Moldovan. This is proof that one doesn’t need incentives in order to attract productions.

“Romania is also well set up to service studio productions with 15 modern studios available in Bucharest,” says Moldovan. “MediaPro Studios can provide three complete film crews, fluent in English, French and Italian,” adds Crisan. In the last few years, “the circulation of film crews from Romania, Hungary and Czech Republic led to a regional pool of professionals,” says Crisan.

Recent productions since Borat and Cold Mountain that have featured the country include The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, and Joel Schumacher’s most recent endeavor, Town Creek. 

SOUTH AFRICA

“There are a number of reasons for the increase in film and television production in South Africa,” says Genevieve Hofmeyr, producer at Moonlighting Films, one of the leading production service companies in Capetown. South Africa has competitive costs (South Africa’s currency is weaker than the U.S. dollar), good film infrastructure, and the fact that it’s an “English speaking country in the same time zone as Europe and the U.K.,” explains Hofmeyr. We have “a developed film industry with most film resources and skills readily available,” she adds, with the high quality of the local film crews from ten years of working on top Hollywood productions.

“The single most important factor contributing to the growth of the film industry in South Africa was the introduction of a Production Rebate,” she continues, “which was introduced by the South African Government in 2004. This rebate has been working extremely effectively and has attracted significant foreign projects to South Africa.”

The Large Budget Film and Television Production Rebate Scheme allows foreign films to claim a 15 percent rebate of the local South African expenditures if 50 percent of principal photography takes place in South Africa. As a co-production, producers can get a 25 percent rebate. The minimum local expenditure is $3.5 million and the rebate tops off at $1.5 million.

 Co-production opportunities have also contributed to the growth of the South African film and television industry, explains Hofmeyr. “Aside from the production rebate scheme, finance can and has been raised from reliable sources in South Africa,” she says.” The IDC (Industrial Development Corporation) has “invested significantly in a number of international projects over the past couple of years,” adds Hofmeyr. According to her, productions have brought in roughly $200 million over the last few years since the Production Rebate was introduced.