Costa Rica plans to elevate its film and TV industry
Central American nation Costa Rica is at last progressing towards creating a revolutionary film law that will aim to make the country more attractive for foreign productions.
By Josh Wilson 4 Feb 2015
Central American nation Costa Rica is at last progressing towards creating a revolutionary film law that will aim to make the country more attractive for foreign productions.
Costa Rica’s film industry has produced more films since 2000 than it has in its entire history, mainly due to the advent of new technology and the development of home-grown talent. According to an article in Variety, up to 7,000 people now work in the country’s audio visual sector.
Undeterred by the lack of tax incentives or a film commission, the Central American nation of 5 million recently managed to attract international BAFTA-nominated feature Paddington, in which it stood in for Peru.
The aim of the new film law is to pry producers away from popular Latin American rivals the Dominican Republic and Panama, which both have attractive tax incentives. It will include the creation of a film fund, production and distribution incentives, a tax rebate for private investors in Costa Rican features, the instalment of a film commission, and location filming incentives for international projects.
Talking to Variety, Max Valverde, head of the Costa Rican Film Institute recently said: “Costa Rica’s preliminary goals are to produce 10 films and accept up to a dozen international projects a year.”
Currently the country only produces up to five films per year, meaning they have to at least double their output if they plan on reaching their goal.
Undeterred by the lack of tax incentives or a film commission, the Central American nation of 5 million recently managed to attract international BAFTA-nominated feature Paddington, in which it stood in for Peru.
The aim of the new film law is to pry producers away from popular Latin American rivals the Dominican Republic and Panama, which both have attractive tax incentives. It will include the creation of a film fund, production and distribution incentives, a tax rebate for private investors in Costa Rican features, the instalment of a film commission, and location filming incentives for international projects.
Talking to Variety, Max Valverde, head of the Costa Rican Film Institute recently said: “Costa Rica’s preliminary goals are to produce 10 films and accept up to a dozen international projects a year.”
Currently the country only produces up to five films per year, meaning they have to at least double their output if they plan on reaching their goal.
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