AMMAN —
The
Israeli government aims to “positively brand the country” and improve the
economy through a rebate project that could grant up to $13.9 million to
produce foreign films and TV series in the country over the next two years,
according to Jewish News Syndicate (JNS).
اضافة اعلان
Culture and Sports Minister Yehiel Tropper told JNS
that people typically opt to go to Greece, Italy or even Jordan, where it is
cheaper to produce films. Jordan is a “big player” in the rebate system, he
said, and many millions of dollars are infused in the country by filmmakers.
“There is no reason why Israel cannot do the same
thing,” he said.
The move was initiated earlier this summer by five
Israeli ministries: economy, culture and sports, finance, foreign affairs, and
tourism.
Qualified
filmmakers — including in the field of animation and those working on TV series
— can receive reimbursement for production expenses of up to 30 percent. The
amount of financial support will be granted based on documentation provided by
the recipients at various milestones throughout the production process. Up to
80 percent can be received during production and 20 percent when the film is
completed.
Reimbursements can range between $154,347 and $5.1
million, according to JNS.
Tropper said that the investment is expected to
increase in value thanks to the “domino effect” of commercial activity. He said
when production teams are in town, they will spend money in hotels, use public
transportation, order catering, hire professional support staff and more.
Any applicant who wins a reimbursement grant has to
agree to mention in film credits that the production was made with the support
of Israel and allow Israel to share information about the film’s connection to
the Holy Land “in any manner it sees fit”, according to the program’s official
documentation.
Tropper said that the program is fully funded for
two years and then will be up for renewal. He noted that despite the government
turnover due to another round of elections, “if this works, there are movies
being made in Israel, it helps the economy and puts Israel in a positive
light”.
Already, without the grant program, many well-known
films have been made in Israel or developed by Israeli talent, such as
Netflix’s “Hit and Run”, “Fauda”, “Yellow Peppers”, “Tehran”, and others.
On the animation side, “the industry is booming
right now in Israel”, Ben Molina, who runs the Animation Union in Israel, was
quoted by JNS as saying.
“Israel is both an animation service provider and
the creator of original IP,” he said.
Film production in Jordan provided 8,698 filmmaking
jobs in 2021, compared to 5,500 in 2020, a growth of 58 percent, according to
figures obtained from the Royal Film Commission (RFC).
Also, 657 projects were filmed in Jordan with the
support of RFC, including documentaries, feature and short films, television
series, advertising and video in 2021, compared to 382 projects in 2020,
marking a 72 percent growth.
The total volume of expenditure for projects filmed in
Jordan was JD24.9 million in 2021, compared to JD17.5 million in 2020, a 43
percent increase.
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