Georgia Creates Favorable Conditions for the International Film Industry
Georgia is emerging as a highly attractive Eastern European filming destination as major players in the international film industry travel to Georgia to learn more about the country’s unique filming environment. Hollywood, Bollywood and European movie industry representatives have increased their travel to Georgia this year to learn more about the Georgian Government’s initiative to stimulate its film sector by offering favorable conditions to local and international film-makers.
A group of top Hollywood producers (whose work include The Hangover, Transformers, Captain America, Mission: Impossible) visited Georgia in June to check out potential filming locations in the country’s most prominent and scenic locations including the capital Tbilisi, mountainous Kazbegi and Mestia, and the beautiful Black Sea resort towns. They also met with their Georgian counterparts and production companies to discuss their varying experiences in order to gain knowledge about the existing infrastructure.
“The world is only now starting to appreciate what Georgia has to offer, and bringing a delegation of top location scouts from Hollywood was a very smart move,” American filmmaker Thomas Burns said to Georgia Today.
Earlier this year, the Government of Georgia launched its Film-in-Georgia program offering financial incentives and tax rebates to encourage foreign cinematographers to film in Georgia:
20–25% Cash REBATE
The initiative is aimed at developing the local film industry and establishing Georgia as an international filming location. It will include a tax refund system, under which filmmakers will receive a 20–25% rebate for qualifying expenses and another 2% for any specific Georgian elements featured in the film. Feature films costing more than $300,000 and documentaries worth more than $150,000 will be eligible for the rebate, providing that at least three days of filming are done in Georgia. This mechanism will be applicable across a range of areas, including feature film, film for television, television series, animation, documentary, reality television, and music videos.
One-Stop-Shop
Provision of production services with a “One-Stop-Shop” principle was presented by the Government of Georgia to create a favorable environment for producers and remove bureaucratic obstacles that may occur. Offered services include:
- Location scouting
- Scheduling
- Assistance in procurement of permits
- Coordination & communication with various stakeholders
International producers are invited to benefit from the film incentive scheme, which coupled with Georgia’s geographical and architectural diversity, business-friendly environment and lowest level of bureaucracy will ensure pleasant and productive film-making process in our country.
10 Reasons to Film in Georgia
- Inspirational locations: shoot subtropical, coastal, alpine mountains, desert and beautiful forest scenes in one day
- Unique and captivating fusion of medieval and modern architecture with Asian, European, and Soviet styles
- Six climate zones and long sunny days
- Fully accessible public locations free of charge
- Competitive financial incentives: up to 25% cash back
- Easy to apply cash rebate scheme: “One-Stop-Shop” principle and no red-tape
- Business-friendly environment: flexible labor market, cheap energy, and low-taxes (rate 9th Low Tax Rate Economies-World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report)
- Modern infrastructure: three international airports, cargo and passenger ports, and well-connected roads and rail across Georgia
- High speed fiber-optic internet connectivity across the country
- Film friendly society
Georgia is endorsing the movie industry by providing full access to public locations; Tbilisi does not require any city-wide permit for b-roll filming; more complicated shoots requiring street closures or large setups can usually be permitted within 3 days; and the police department assists with traffic control.
Being located at the intersection of Europe and Asia, Georgia benefits from a multilateral cultural heritage. At the same time, Georgia is one of the most ecologically diverse countries in the world, with climatic zones ranging from subtropical to high alpine and semi desert. With its diverse locations and film friendly environment Georgia has a lot to offer international filmmakers.
Georgia also stands out as one of the few countries in the world with a 100-year long film-making history. Since 1908, national cinematography has enjoyed great success and established its own unique identity. In fact, Georgian cinematography has long been one of the dominant factors shaping the country’s image in parallel with accumulating valuable experience and grooming generations of local film specialists open for innovation, idea sharing and international cooperation, ensuring that films made in Georgia are internationally acclaimed.
“We all know the importance that Georgian cinema had in forming the country’s image and culture. There are few countries which have a hundred-year history of cinematography such as we have. We think this new initiative will contribute to the development of cinematography as an industry and as a business, and our country will become Eastern Europe’s most attractive filming location”, said Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili.