“Following a record year (2021) for audiovisual productions in Greece, 2022 started also dynamically and all the indications show that we are expecting a second record year in a row” highlighted Mr. Panos Kouanis, President & CEO of EKOME – The National Centre of Audiovisual Media and Communication, which is tasked with the protection, support and promotion of audiovisual media and communication initiatives in Greece.
Right now, the action thriller ”The Bricklayer” (starring Aaron Eckhart, Nina Dobrev and directed by Renny Harlin) is being filmed in Thessaloniki while the TV series ”Greek Salad” for Amazon Prime (starring Lola Doillon, Antoine Garceau and directed by Cedric Klapisch) is being filmed in Athens. An action movie starring Robert de Niro and Jamie Foxx as well as the third part of the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” starring Nia Vardalos are scheduled to be filmed in Greece in 2022.
Since the beginning of the Greek Cash Rebate Program (April 2018) until April 2022, more than 349 million euros were invested in Greece for the production of a/v works (feature and documentary films, TV series, videogames and animation). In a total of 221 projects, 101 are international productions /co-productions (from Europe, Asia, the United States, Canada, and Australia). More than 51,400 jobs were created for production needs, in 140 different locations across Greece.
“Particularly in 2021, more than 10 high budget productions were shot in Greece (for Amazon, Netflix, Paramount Studios, Apple TV, Millenium Films), as a result of the very competitive investment incentive and tax incentive for a/v production that Greece offers (40% cash rebate and 30% tax relief)” explained Kouanis. The major selling point concerns productions with eligible expenses over 8 million euros in Greece, which provides the ability for subsidies on non-resident labor (e.g., for scriptwriter and director fees, salaries of cast and crew for feature films and TV series or expenses for copyright to use images for cultural and educational games).
“Despite the impediments of the pandemic worldwide, 2021 proved to be a very productive year for the a/v sector in Greece. Given all our efforts and the results so far in EKOME, we are very optimistic that in the coming years, Greece will become one of the top filming destinations in Europe” Kouanis concluded.