With two new funding programs that can cover up to 60% of costs for international feature film productions and the new state-of-the-art HQ7 Studios set to open in Vienna in Next year, Austria is upping its game in the film and TV sector in a major way.
Approved by the government last year and in effect since January 1, the FISA Plus incentive provides funding for international and local films and series, including TV and streaming production. The subsidy, which is not limited, also covers documentaries, animation, virtual reality projects and post-production services, including sound, music and VFX.
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In particular, FISA Plus offers a 30% rebate and an additional 5% “green bonus” for products that comply with environmental sustainability criteria, with a maximum funding set at €5 million ($5.4 million) per film and $8.2 million per series.
“This is the biggest revolution in the film financing system in Austria since 1980, when the film financing system was introduced,” said Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, chairman of the trade association Film and Music Austria (FAMA), and managing director. of production based in Vienna and Luxembourg company Amour Fou. “This is a game-changer, a complete game-changer for our industry.”
Austrian film commissioner Arie Bohrer, who has long championed efforts for a strong incentive aimed at international co-productions, says FISA Plus will increase competition in Austria in Europe: “It will definitely push German business and Western European business in co-productions.”
It will also strengthen the position of Austrian producers, he added.
“In a co-production, they have a stronger position – they now have 35% in their hands, which gives them a good share of the project.”
Stressing the importance of the green bonus, Dumreicher-Ivanceanu says that it is “very important in our time. Climate change is here – we can see it in Austria. Look at our ski slopes — no snow this year. It’s hard. The world has to change and the film industry has to change. … Not only can we work with green production, because once we do, people will see the movies ; they see that the directors and actors are in the fight for the climate.
In addition to FISA Plus, which is managed by Austria’s national film commission Film, the Austrian Film Institute’s new ÖFI Plus program offers separate funding for feature films that can also be used in international co-productions. . Particularly interesting is the so-called “added value bonus” of ÖFI Plus for international co-productions that bring more money to Austria.
If foreign producers send money to Austria as part of an international co-production in the form of cash or license, ÖFI Plus provides an additional bonus of 25% of the amount transferred. For example, if a green film production costs $108,725 in Austria, it will receive $38,000 (including the green bonus) from FISA Plus. If the money that makes this expenditure possible comes from abroad and is sent to Austria, ÖFI Plus provides an additional 25%, bringing the total incentive to $65,200.
“It’s very competitive,” Dumreicher-Ivanceanu said. “Even if it’s not a green film, with 55%, it’s still strong. This is a very interesting offer for international co-productions and will make the Austrian industry stronger. “Austria has a lot of film experience in the last 20 years, with works in Cannes, Berlin and Venice. We have directors and crews, and we have cities and landscapes. I think it will put the Austria on the map,” he added.
FAMA itself consists of around 7,000 member companies throughout Austria working in the sector.
For Alexander Glehr, head of Vienna-based Film AG, producer of Marie Kreutzer’s “Corsage”, FISA Plus is now “part of all the financial plans we are working on for our future productions. With FISA Plus and ÖFI Plus we have dynamic instruments that enable us to meet the demands of today’s market.
Austria already offered several film funding opportunities before the new FISA Plus and ÖFI Plus incentives, but they mainly served local productions. FISA Plus is specifically aimed at international co-productions.
In 2021, Austria’s 19 federal and regional funders provided almost $98.4 million in funding, with $74.1 million for production. FISA Plus is seen as a major boost to state film commissions, which could supplement federal incentives.
Marijana Stoisits, CEO of the Vienna Film Commission, called it a “game changer” – an often-heard assessment of the new program – and said the new funding could be combined with the $2.1 million Vienna Film Incentive , which offers a 30% rebate on qualified production costs in Vienna for film and TV projects.
Launched last year and supported by the Vienna Tourist Board, the program has already supported series including the Noah Centineo starrer “The Recruit,” and “Criminal,” both Netflix productions.
“With FISA Plus, not only the production, but also the entire post-production is included, and that is important for Vienna,” said Stoisits, noting the major players in the city such as Synchron Stage Vienna, the famous facility where there is music. recorded for recent works such as “Ad Astra,” “Dune,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and “Foundation.”
Stephen Frears’ HBO series “The Palace,” starring Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant, meanwhile, is the first production to get new FISA Plus funding and is also shooting in Vienna.
The projects follow Netflix’s “Extraction 2,” starring Chris Hemsworth, which was shot in the Austrian capital last year, reportedly costing about $6 million and getting about $1.6 million in subsidy support.
Producer Wolfgang Ramml heads Filmhaus Wien, which specializes in servicing international productions such as “Extraction 2” and “Spectre.”
FISA Plus, he said, would greatly increase Austria’s competitiveness against rivals in Eastern Europe, where many countries offer “huge tax breaks.” The previous FISA system was limited to $1.3 million a year, unlike the new unlimited FISA Plus fund. The new system will help build a bigger and more permanent industry in Austria, Ramml added, noting that in the past many in the sector were forced to pursue work abroad.
Ramml praised Bohrer in particular for the new funding. “This is the effort of Arie Bohrer, the Austrian film commissioner. He is running on his heels trying to establish it.”
Dumreicher-Ivanceanu also praised the government’s prompt action on the incentive.
“The government is really open-minded. I was elected chairman of FAMA in November 2020. We started negotiations in 2021, and in July 2022, the government decided to approve it and send it to parliament. One year of negotiations with the government and then six months of negotiations with the parliament – it’s a fast process.
As a producer who has worked extensively on crossborder co-productions, such as Amour Fou’s Berlinale screener “Ingeborg Bachmann — Journey to the Desert,” Dumreicher-Ivanceanu offers an international perspective on incentive development . Margarethe von Trotta’s film, starring Vicky Krieps, “very much symbolizes what Amour Fou does – international auteur cinema with high production value.”
Bohrer emphasized that the Austrian industry will soon gain momentum with the new studio in Vienna, which will not only make possible longer shooting times in the country but also offer environmentally sustainable production facilities that qualify for the green incentive bonus.
A joint $9.7 million project between port operator and logistics group Hafen Wien and real estate company CC Real Intl., HQ7 Studios will feature two state-of-the-art soundstages – one with measure 2,000 square-meter, the other 1,000 square-meter – which can independently accommodate two productions at the same time. The studios will be equipped with a large photovoltaic system consisting of 704 solar panels to provide green electricity.
The facility is the first real film studio in Austria since the historic Rosenhügel Studios in Vienna was demolished in 2014.
“The combination of unique, regional locations and a professional studio environment is a plus for producers from around the world,” said HQ7 Studios managing director Anu Shanker. “Austrian filmmakers are in great demand and are well established internationally thanks to their expertise.”
The studio will contribute to the maintenance and expansion of Austrian expertise and offer all the requirements for international projects, from pre-production to post-production, added Shanker. “We’re more than a point into the shooting schedule.”
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