MALTA /A DRIVING FORCE FOR MALTA’S ECONOMY
In recent months the Government of Malta has revised the incentive schemes for film productions which can benefit
from a cash rebate of up to a maximum of 25%.
Malta has welcomed a number of productions, including “Courier from Paradise” (Russia), “Pirate Pete And The
Sea Monster” (Belgium), “Fort Ross” (Russia), “A Matter of Honor” (Russia), “Angels or Demons” (Russia), “The
Whale” (UK), “Come on Delfino” (Italy), “Asterix et Obelix 4” (France), “The Seige of Malta” (UK) and “Captain
Phillips” (US).
In line with its objective of creating training opportunities to fulfill the requirements of the film industry, the Malta
Film Commission has been awarded funding as part of the European Social Fund Cohesion Policy to improve employ-
ment opportunities and aid the development of a skilled and adaptable workforce in the film services industry.
The Malta Film Fund has also been a successful journey for the local indigenous industry with a substantial increase in
audiovisual production works, with diverging styles and themes, varying from documentaries to animated films.
Last year, apart from the workshops, master classes and seminars organized to help cater for the needs of the industry, the Malta Film Commission successfully hosted the prestigious 25th European Film Academy Award recogniz-
ing achievements in European cinema.
BELGIUM / BRUSSELS: FROM THE BIFFF TO WIKILIEAKS
Once again the Brussels Film Office was a partner of the 31st edition of the Brussels International Fantastic Film
Festival (also known as the “BIFFF”).
This year, for the first time, the BIFFF erected its tent at the Center For Fine Arts or “Bozar”.
The world “avant-premiere” of Tom Cruise’s latest movie, “Oblivion”, was screened at the Festival.
64,000 visitors enjoyed the third edition of this Festival, a great year and a great success.
The film about WikiLeaks – “The Fifth Estate” – directed by Bill Condon and produced by Steven Spielberg, with
Benedict Cumberbatch playing Julian Assange, filmed for 2 weeks in Brussels City Center. No less than 200 local technicians were employed during the shooting and the Brussels Police Department was very helpful.
PORTUGAL/ MADE IN ALGARVE
The Algarve Film Commission is proud to announce the conclusion of post-production on the first feature film entirely shot in the Algarve, based on a script totally based in the area. An international UK – Dutch – Portuguese co-production was formed to film this comedy about the local pride and joy – “Algarve Oranges” – which a former City Banker sees as a
potential profitable business venture.
The film will be released internationally shortly after the 2013 Cannes Film Market.
FRANCE /PARISFX : FRENCH SHOWCASE IN NEW YORK
The One Club (www.oneclub.org), sponsor of the prestigious One Show Awards, has announced the addition of Parisfx, a celebration of digital advertising and post-production arts, to the Creative Week 2013 program. Presented by the Ile de France Film Commission in association with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States, Parisfx will showcase the most creative and innovative French companies in digital arts and VFX.
The studios to be featured include BUF (Life of Pi), Chez Eddy (The Bullet), Cube Creative Productions (Kaeloo), Knightworks (Hermés, L’Oreal) and Mikros Image (“The Bear”) – which have won awards at major festivals and competitions, including Academy Awards and the VES Awards. Executives from all five of the VFX companies
will be on hand to discuss their work and the benefits of partnering with French studios.
“It’s important to recognize that visual effects play an increasingly instrumental role in advertising, as we’ve seen
with this year’s One Show finalists,” said Mary Warlick, CEO of The One Club. “Who better to underscore that fact
than the finest studios from Paris, which are responsible for some of the most sophisticated visual effects in the world”.
“Parisfx is an opportunity both for the French studios as well as the wider visual effects community in New York,”
said Olivier René-Veillon, the CEO of the Ile de France Film Commission. “We expect the showcase to open up a broader discussion about visual effects approaches and applications, especially as artistic input.”
Parisfx took place on May 7 th at 82 Mercer Street in New York.
Please visit www.oneclub.org and www.creativeweek.com for more information on Parisfx and Creative Week.
FRANCE / THE FRENCH PARLIAMENT UPGRADES THE TRIP
Last December, the French Parliament voted several changes to the various tax rebates that France offers to
both domestic and international producers. For foreign producers, there are two major changes to be mentioned.
Firstly, the TRIP (tax rebate for international productions) now has a cap (maximum amount per project) of €10M
instead of the previous €4M, and includes accommodation in the eligible expenses for the 20% rebate.
Secondly, big budget TV series made by a French producer with at least 30% of foreign investment will all benefit from
a higher tax rebate amount, and the possibility of shooting in a language other than French.
The last CNC committee for the TRIP (tax rebate for international productions) green-lighted three new projects
which will benefit from the 20% rebate. Two American feature films: “As Above, So Below” by John Erick Dowdle,
a low cost thriller produced by Legendary Pictures to be shot underneath Paris in the catacombs; and “The 100 Foot
Journey” produced by Dreamworks. Both stories for these films are mostly played out on French soil.
The TRIP will also once again support the third season of the Red Planet/BBC TV series “Death in Paradise”, to be shot entirely in Guadeloupe, like the first two seasons.
All the details about the TRIP are available through Film France (rebate@filmfrance.net – www.filmfrance.net).
SPAIN /TENERIFE: SPANISH PREMIERE OF FAST&FURIOUS
On May 21st Tenerife hosts the Spanish premiere of “Fast & Furious 6”, which was shot on location around the island
in September and October 2012. The special screening will take place at the Yelmo Cinema in the Centro Comercial
Meridiano in Santa Cruz, the capital of the Canary Islands.
The official nationwide release will be on the following day, May 22 nd .
Carlos Alonso, the Vice President of the Government of Tenerife and the island’s Minister for Tourism, is grateful to
the movie studio, Universal Pictures, for choosing Tenerife to host the premiere of the film in Spain. He stresses, “The
film will be an excellent promotion for the island and some of its most beautiful scenery and it will make other major
production companies consider Tenerife as a location for their movies”.
“In the past few years the island has reinforced its position as a location for major movie productions”, says the
Minister.“Universal Pictures finally decided to shoot in Tenerife thanks largely to the work done by the Tenerife Film Commission to attract filming. Once production companies are here we also give them advice and help with a wide
range of issues including locations and permits,” Alonso explains.
“Fast & Furious 6” was filmed on location in the municipalities of Garachico, Icod de los Vinos, San Juan de la
Rambla, Buenavista del Norte and Guía de Isora, as well as on the island’s ring motorway on the stretch between
Adeje and Santiago del Teide, currently under construction. The Studio flew in over 400 crew members and
around a hundred vehicles, including three war tanks (a
real one and two replicas) weighing some 60 tons.
The shooting of the movie was also good for Tenerife film Production and service companies such as Sur Film, which
provided all kinds of services on the island including logistics and local talent casting.
Directed by Justin Lin, “Fast and Furious 6” stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodríguez and Dwayne
Johnson. The Spanish actress Elsa Pataky also features in the film in which viewers will again be thrilled by the
core elements of this global blockbuster franchise featuring speed races and non-stop action.
ITALY /INCONTRI # 3: COOPERATION AS AN OPPORTUNITY
“Four Countries. Two Languages. One Summit.” This was the slogan of the Incontri international co-production
meetings in South Tyrol, which Business Location Südtirol – Alto Adige (BLS) presented for the third time this
year during the Bolzano Film Festival in mid-April. The event aims to promote cooperation between the German-
and Italian-language film industries in a proactive way, to encourage transnational working relationships and to
position South Tyrol as a film region in the long term.
The biggest change in 2013 was that Switzerland joined the three countries that have participated in past years:
Italy, Germany and Austria.
Well-known TV and film producers, representatives of major radio stations and film-funding organizations from
all four countries were in attendance.
GERMANY /STUTTGART FESTIVAL FOR ANIMATED FILM AND FMX
At the end of April the 20th Stuttgart Festival for Animated Film and FMX – Conference on Animation, Effects, Games
and Transmedia turned the German Southwest into the center of the world of animation and VFX. The Swabian
metropolis became the capital of the animated world with around 1,000 of the best animated films representing the
whole spectrum of the genre.
In addition to competitions featuring the latest films from all over the world, the Festival also had an extensive selec-
tion of supporting programs offering exciting highlights, such as school and studio presentations, and the showcas-
ing of the works of animation artists like Atsushi Wada and Jakob Schuh.
The Film Commission Stuttgart Region offered a workshop discussion at Büro 8ter April and about 25 festival visitors
used the opportunity to take a glimpse behind the scenes.
The Motion Design Studio has been developing animation and interactive content for advertising campaigns, didactic means of communication, title designs, music videos, visual narrations and exhibitions since 2006. Animated
illustrations which develop in abstract environments are their trademark.
“Undercurrents” is their most recent short film which uses this style and opens up a new associative world explanation from Norman Morris. This filmic work evolved in the course of the exhibition “The World in your Mind” which was developed and curated by Büro 8ter April in co-operation with the Film Commission Stuttgart Region (www.8apr.de).
