Budapest has provided the backdrop for big American productions such as Alan Parker?s Evita and Steven Spielberg?s Munich, but revenue from foreign film and co-productions has increased more than tenfold from 2004, when the government introduced a 20 percent rebate on production costs, to EUR 126 million in 2009, Dan Bilefsky wrote, citing data from the Hungarian National Film Office.
?A foreign film production in Hungary receives the 20 percent discount through a partnership with a local production company, which typically supplies everything from lighting to crews. The local production company gets the rebate from teaming up with a registered Hungarian company that provides the financing and can deduct the contribution from its income taxes,? Bilefsky explained.
Also attractive are Hungary?s low wage costs weak currency.
?Every penny you can save and put on the screen is a huge boon for filmmakers,? said Steve Auer, the Budapest-based director of operations for Raleigh Studios, one of the largest independent film studios in the United States, told The New York Times.
As well as costs, the piece also mentioned Hungary?s rich past in the film industry.
?Hungary has a film tradition more than a century old. It has produced industry titans like Adolph Zukor, the founder of Paramount Pictures; Sir Alexander Korda, the founder of London Films and producer of The Third Man, among other film classics; and Michael Curtiz, the director of Casablanca.?
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / Photo: MTI
