Producing : Eastern Europe - is it scary to film there? by Janusz Bocian

Having worked at the major studios in feature physical production we'd look at other countries. Things we'd consider is crew base (can we get an experienced crew? What's their rate? Or do we have to fly in a crew and pay for their hotels and per diem), camera, grip and electric - same issue: are there rental houses available or do we rent from another country and transport? Cost of living: how much will we spend on crew, taxes, hotel, food); Government and politics: if we're doing an action film and bringing weapons will this be permitted? How much red tape is involved? What's the stability of the government? Crime rate?

I'm glad that I could give you many positive answers for most of theese question for Poland, except for our government as it sucks big time ;) But who likes their government anyway ;) But it is stable so far.

Jokes aside, here in Poland we usually have a problem mostly with "Polish hell" - bureaucracy. And not that you can to bribe them or something - those days are long gone.

Bringing firearms for example could be a daunting task, but we have some firearms renting companies. Owner of the one I worked with the most is an expert on weapons law. But European Firearms Pass is respected here without problems.

Did you have any issues with wepons in other countires?

Stephen King's 'The Dark Tower' TV Series Filming started in Split, Croatia a few days back. I guess the company will go to most countries if they find some locations or some old buildings they need for specific scenes. If the crime was an issue, no one would ever filmed anything in L.A., New York of Chicago. All cities have crime in some form and oversized bureaucracy. Speaking of crime, the production company rented an office space in the same building where a homicide took place 17 years ago and it's still unsolved.

Janusz, yes it’s scary in terms of logistics and money but I would love opportunity to travel to Europe in my lifetime, especially to do a production as well! I’m in lol

Have you ever checked travel prices to Europe? As you can save a lot on crews and renting equipement, locations and permits, accomodation and even food in here, maybe it is worth to spend some on travel.

Need a solid incentive (tax benefits) to lure producers. But this should be coming from the film office. Do you have one in Poland? That's the first step

Of course we do :) http://filmcommissionpoland.pl/ is a way to go and they recently annouced 30% cash rebate, which was most welcome and sought after in our industry.

Well that's good Janusz. What are the crews like out in Poland? Are you using local hires or pulling from surrounding areas/countries? I know U.S productions are shooting all over eastern Europe. All you need is for 1 or 2 U.S Productions to shoot in Poland (and have a good experience) then word will spread fast, very fast.

Douglas - crews in Poland are very experienced and hard working. And we have plenty of them! There were at least two US productions in Poland last year, and at least one is shooting this year. so it is improving.

And Chernobyl was shot in Lithuania, whith which we coproduce with a lot. And it is great!

Shawn - I don't even know how to respond to this. You should watch less TV and travel more.

Our government sucks, but that does not mean we chase people of color and LGBT community on the streets whenever we see them. Actually our streets right now are much safer than Paris or London.

Also the LGBT community is stronger than ever in Poland, inspite being despised by government officials.

And there is the case of media propaganda vs reality. For example we have our national independence day parade. In every city in Poland it is peaceful and merry gathering.

Just the one in Warsaws is sometimes "hot', but this year it was very peacefull, with no incidents whatsoever.

There was one extreme right wing group of idiots, only e few of them, like less than hundred (for a 40 thousand people parade) , who tried to get in front of the march, and they were removed from it. Media coverage? "40 thousand facists marched in Warsaw under national flags!" There were 40 thousand peacefull citizens, families, and people of color too, in this parade with Poland white and red flags.

So compare this pictures and tell me what's the difference?:

Christopher Nolan shoot hes new spy thriller in Tallinn, Estonia https://www.filmneweurope.com/news/estonia-news/item/118442-production-c...

The production company's expenses in Estonia were about some €16.5 million, of which Film Estonia covered some €5 million. The film's overall budget amounts to some €200 million. The film stars John David Washington (Malcolm X, BlacKkKlansman), with a strong supporting cast including legendary British actors Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh, as well as Robert Pattinson, most famous for playing Edward Cullen, in the Twilight series of movies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74mDVBnXq_4

Hope you're not referring to Hostel kinda scary :)))..kidding...Bulgaria's been booming last years, lota Hollywood movies filmed there...other near-by's not so attractive my opinion. My country has good landscapes and accommodation's pretty cheap, but I dunno the tax revenues politics and such...if interested I guess you best turn to country's national film agency...pretty much every east European country has one...

Greece is beginning to attract some foreign productions. They offer a good rebate (35%, may have been raised to 40 by now) and local crews are solid. Greece, of course, also has almost any natural setting you might want from sun&sea to wild mountains, plus great light and climate.