FRANCE: Going for Gold

FRANCE CONTINUES TO DRAW IN HUNDREDS OF PRODUCTIONS THANKS TO ITS POTENTIAL 40% REBATE, GREAT LOCATIONS AND EXPANDING STUDIO BASE. BUT HOW WILL IT COPE WITH THE FORTHCOMING OLYMPICS AND MOVE OF PRODUCTION ACTIVITY AWAY FROM THE CAPITAL?

“THE 10% BUMP FOR VFX-INTENSIVE PRODUCTIONS HAS BEEN A GAME CHANGER WITH SOME LONG LASTING PRODUCTIONS BASED ENTIRELY IN FRANCE.”

Monsieur Spade © Jean-Claude Lother/AMC

"THE SPRING OF 2024 WILL CERTAINLY BE SLOWER THAN USUAL AS PARIS ATTRACTS THE MAJORITY OF SHOOTS, BUT SHOOTING OUTSIDE THE CAPITAL WILL BE EASIER THAN EVER."

Netflix’s dramatic mini-series Senna about Brazil’s legendary F1 driver Ayrton Senna is the streamer’s most ambitious and largest budget local project to date. The large-scale production filmed at the end of 2023 including in São Paulo, and Angra dos Reis in the state of Rio de Janeiro. It tapped into the country’s cash rebate worth up to 30%.

Hundreds of local crew and cast were used on the bio-drama, which is produced by Brazilian production company Gullane Entretenimento with Vicente Amorim serving as showrunner and Amorim and Julia Rezende as directors.

This project is the flagship of Netflix’s USD182 million investment in Brazilian-based production. The streaming giant has also committed to invest USD912 million towards initiatives for the development of professionals in Brazil's audiovisual community.

Netflix has already backed several original local series and films, including Sintonia and Invisible City, which also showcased São Paulo’s urban sprawl and Rio’s mix of nature and cityscapes.

São Paulo has become particularly popular as a filming location for productions aiming to blend gritty realism with compelling storytelling. This is thanks in great part to the work of Spcine, Sao Paulo’s film and television body, which works hard to promote the city to international producers.

Steven Knight’s The Veil is one of many projects to choose the French capital as a location, including more than half of the 95-day shoot at the Studios of Bry-sur-Marne, which has previously hosted Hunger Games and Marie-Antoinette.

“The story starts in Turkey then moves to Paris for the bulk of filming,” says Adrian Kelly, producer on The Veil. “Therefore, it made sense to have a largely French crew which we could continue with in Paris. They were really great.  I found them motivated, extremely skilled and driven by creativity, so much so that we brought them to the UK for the final few weeks of shooting.”

The Veil team, with the support of local company Trimaran, also took advantage of the 30% tax rebate for international productions (TRIP), as well as the additional 10% VFX rebate bonus for productions that spend at least EUR2 million on VFX work in France.

“The 10% bump for VFX-intensive productions has been a game changer with some long lasting productions based entirely in France,” comments Xavier Roy, producer at Paris-based outfit Froggie Production. “That’s what we’ve seen in the last two to three years with projects from Apple, Netflix, Disney and others. It means more business for the whole French industry and it’s also much more interesting and rewarding for the crews working on these international productions.”

Pauline Augrain, digital director at the CNC (France’s National Cinema Centre), adds: “The boosted tax rebate has been a significant factor in getting productions not only to come but to stay here. For example, John Wick: Chapter 4, The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Season 1, and The Nun II spent several months shooting in France and did all their VFX work on site. France gives the opportunity to shoot an entire film on location thanks to the fiscal incentive that makes it a preferred choice for filming and making VFX.”

AMC drama series Monsieur Spade, directed by Scott Franck, originally scheduled its French shoot for 10 days in Occitanie. However, production ended up spending almost three months in the country, with additional filming at Bozouls in Aveyron, Gard and Hérault, with the assistance of Haut et Court as the local production service company.

“This production involved the recruitment of many local technicians, actors and extras,” says Augrain. “It benefited from TRIP and the support from Occitanie Films, the film commission (part of the Film France-CNC network) and logistical and technical support from the towns of Bozouls, Sauve (Gard) and Pignan (Hérault).”

In addition to the locations, the expanding studio facilities are also meeting the ever growing demand of productions. Monsieur Spade not only filmed at the locations mentioned, but also made use of V Studios in Vendargues, which offers three soundstages and one virtual production stage. Studios de Paris welcomed Todd A Kessler’s The New Look to its 102,000 sq ft facilities; Tim Van Patten’s Franklin shot at Studios de la Montjoie; and The Nun II took advantage of the 22 acres of backlot space at Provence Studios in Martigues. The latter is due to open three new studio spaces this year.

This influx of productions is undoubtedly a huge boost. But inevitably the arrival of the Olympics this summer will have an impact on activity. International producers are being advised to stay out of the capital for a few months. But the expectation is that productions will move elsewhere in the country during this period.

“The spring of 2024 will certainly be slower than usual as Paris attracts the majority of shoots, but shooting outside the capital will be easier than ever,” insists Roy, adding that popular cities like Marseille are able to double for Barcelona and the mountains of north Cannes for Afghanistan, the surrounding cities and regions will come into their own.  

He also expects that by the end of 2024 and into 2025 the whole country “will be hot again with international projects.”

Main Image:

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon © Stéphanie Branchu/AMC.