Cash Rebates

Cyprus looks for a piece of the action with ‘Olivewood’ movie industry

Cyprus looks for a piece of the action with ‘Olivewood’ movie industry

The island nation is wooing international film makers as a sunny and cheaper alternative to Los Angeles

Cyprus Film Incentives

Cyprus Film Incentives

Committed to boosting this highly promising sector, the government of the Republic of Cyprus introduced a package of incentives encouraging international producers to choose Cyprus as their next film destination. In specific, production companies that opt to film in Cyprus will be able to choose between cash rebate or tax credit and can also benefit from tax discounts on investments made on equipment and infrastructure, and VAT returns on expenditure in scope.

Qualifying production categories include, amongst others, feature Films (including animation), television Series or mini-series, documentaries for Theatrical or Television release, animation (digital or analogue), television research programs and natural history.

Cyprus Film Locations

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Cyprus Film Market Analysis

The Cyprus Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth (MECSY) made great efforts in 2019 to expand the country’s activities in various aspects concerning cinema, including film production, film education and film festivals.

The first international film exclusively shot in Cyprus using the 35% film incentive scheme, which was launched in 2018, was Jiu Jitsu directed by Dimitris Logothetis and starring Nicolas Cage. The film successfully completed shooting on the island in August 2019.

Patchwork, a fiction film directed by Petros Charalambous and Janine Teerling and produced by Cypriot AMP Filmworks in coproduction with Boo productions from Greece and Transfax Film Productions from Israel also completed shooting in Cyprus in 2019.

More International Productions Expected to Shoot in Cyprus

The Cypriot film incentive scheme run by Invest Cyprus – CIPA (Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency) has an annual budget of 25 m EUR (initially 1.5 m EUR). The scheme provides Cypriot and foreign producers cash rebates and/or tax credits of up to 35% on qualifying production expenditures and it also provides tax allowances of 20% for investment in infrastructure and equipment on the Island.

Top 150 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2020: #147. Sous le ciel d’Alice – Chloé Mazlo

Top 150 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2020: #147. Sous le ciel d’Alice – Chloé Mazlo

Sous le ciel d’Alice

For her directorial debut, celebrated short film director Chloé Mazlo will have Sous le ciel d’Alice (translated as Under Alice’s Sky) on hand for 2020. Produced by Moby Dick Films’ Frederic Niedermayer (Mademoiselle de Joncquières), Mazlo has nabbed Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher and Lebanese-Quebecois playwright Wajdi Mouawad (Incendies, 2009) to headline the production. Cinematographer Hélène Louvart (Happy as Lazzaro, 2018; Invisible Life, 2019) is lensing the Moby Duck Films production. Mazlo’s 2015 short “The Little Stones” received a Cesar while her animated 2010 short documentary “Deyrouth” was well-received and well-traveled on the festival circuit.

Torna a casa, Jimi! Press Releases and Reviews

https://www.zerkalospettacolo.com/torna-a-casa-jimi-recensione/

...una gran bella sorpresa, un film che lancia un messaggio profondo e serissimo attraverso la leggerezza di un’avventura paradossalmente rocambolesca.

… un piccolo e prezioso gioiello che invita ad abbattere i confini attraverso l’unione, la collaborazione e la coesistenza pacifica.

https://www.nonsolocinema.com/torna-a-casa-jimi-10-cose-da-non-fare-quando-perdi-il-tuo-cane-a-cipro-di-marios-piperides.html

Una deliziosissima commedia, assolutamente da vedere, che mostra le assurdità delle guerre, delle invasioni, della politica degli umani, attraverso la storia di un cane che si perde a Cipro… Piperides, vincitore al Tribeca Film Festival per questa buffa, ingegnosa e arguta commedia, con ritmo, con un linguaggio chiaro e semplice scandito da dialoghi pungenti, è riuscito a catturare l’assurdità e la tragedia di una complicata situazione politica.

https://thespot.news/2019/04/torna-a-casa-jimi-un-allegro-paradosso-sullesistenza-dei-confini/

Decisamente un buon debutto nel mondo del lungometraggio per Marios Piperides... riesce a sfruttare in modo coinvolgente, e senza essere didascalico, la leggerezza della commedia per arrivare a fare della seria critica sociale.

Vanity Fair - Torna a casa, Jimi!

Variety: “Cyprus Joins the Battle for Foreign Filmmakers”

“Cyprus offers a cash rebate or tax credit of up to 35% on qualifying local spending for feature films, TV series, animation, documentaries and other projects that promote Cyprus and its culture, provided they meet certain financial criteria and pass a cultural test."

Filming in Cyprus - Tax Incentives and Cash Rebates

Committed to boosting this highly promising sector, the government of the Republic of Cyprus introduced a package of incentives encouraging international producers to choose Cyprus as their next film destination. In specific, production companies that opt to film in Cyprus will be able to choose between cash rebate or tax credit and can also benefit from tax discounts on investments made on equipment and infrastructure, and VAT returns on expenditure in scope.

Qualifying production categories include, amongst others, feature Films (including animation), television Series or mini-series, documentaries for Theatrical or Television release, animation (digital or analogue), television research programs and natural history.