Baltic countries promote regional film industries

It is being led by Estonia’s Production Services Export Alliance, the city of Helsinki and Latvia’s Film Services Producers Association, along with associated local partners.

The plan is to boost each country’s international production profile, partly through promoting their filming incentive support programmes.

Estonia offers a 30% filming incentive and supported projects from Finland and Denmark in its first year. Finland launched a cash rebate of up to 25% in January 2017 and in recent weeks has announced that the glossy TV drama Arctic Circle will film in Helsinki and Lapland as a Finnish-German co-production.

Latvia’s principal incentive support comes from the Riga Film Fund, which has a base 20% rebate for productions shooting in the city.

Estonia, Finland and Latvia each has lots to offer in terms of physical locations, but they are currently hamstrung by a lack of production facilities.

Authorities in Estonia are working to address the issue with Tallinn Film Wonderland, a €6m production facility that will eventually offer three sound stages across some 15,000 sq ft.

First announced this time last year, the project has reportedly secured most of its funding and is on track to be completed within the next 18 months.

The North Star Film Alliance will be specifically looking to appeal to producers in Canada, the US, Japan, South Korea and China.

Image: FreeImages.com/Boris Kondrashov