Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.12.2012, Síða 14

14
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 18 — 2012
Iceland | Film
“I’m afraid we’ll have to keep this
brief,” says Einar Tómasson apolo-
getically, as we meet by the re-
ception of the Borgartún complex
where the Film In Iceland agency
resides. “It’s a very busy day.”
For Einar, Iceland’s Film Commissioner
and the man tasked with bringing the
cream of the global filmmaking elite
into the country to make their next mo-
tion pictures, it has been a typically
busy summer.
Tom Cruise stayed over at the Hil-
ton Nordica whilst in Iceland to film
his upcoming sci-fi thriller ‘Oblivion’
alongside Morgan Freeman. Ben Stiller
followed close behind, staking out lo-
cations for his next directorial project
‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.’ Then
Russell Crowe and Emma Watson were
amongst the stellar line-up for Darren
Aronofsky’s adaptation of the story of
Noah’s Ark, set to hit the big screen in
2014.
But Einar has been looking to the
future. “I go to LA once or twice a year.
Though when I travel I don’t have to try
and sell Iceland anymore. Filmmakers
already know about us,” he says.
One of the biggest draws of working
with Film In Iceland, which in an arm
of the government-backed Promote
Iceland, is the 20% tax rebate offered
to directors who produce their movies
in Iceland. This fact is trumpeted in all
caps across the cover of a glossy bro-
chure featuring a shot of the Icelandic
coast, which Einar hands me. Inside is a
more detailed explanation of how film-
makers can claim back a fifth of their
expenditure here in the country.
Complex rules
Like any part of the tax code, however,
the rules are not quite as simple. Film-
makers must set up a company in Ice-
land, or establish an Icelandic branch
of an existing EEA company, before
submitting details about the film to
the Ministry of Industry, including esti-
mates of production costs and sources.
Only when the production is finished
is the 20% reimbursed and it’s only on
the eligible production costs that have
been incurred in Iceland, not the wages
for employees or contractors who pay
tax in another country.
The system can be daunting at first.
Heather Millard, for instance, who
came to Iceland three years ago to pro-
duce a documentary film, ‘The Future
Of Hope,’ didn’t find the incentive im-
mediately appealing. “The implications
in cost of registering a new company
and finding an accountant to help navi-
gate the laws simply seemed far too
costly given our realistic spend in the
country,” she said.
Now, however, as a producer also
working as a sales agent with Anglo-
South African company Spier Films,
she is working with a number of Icelan-
dic filmmakers to secure the available
tax incentives. “I wouldn’t think twice
about doing it. I would however always
recommend a strong co-production
partner in Iceland to help navigate the
system with you if you’re from abroad.”
The tax benefit does indeed con-
tinue to draw filmmakers to the coun-
try, Einar insists. “If it weren’t for the tax
incentive, people would be looking for
new jobs,” he says. And he maintains it
is good for the country too: “The gov-
ernment has to gain more than it pays
out if this is to work.”
In the first six months of 2012 alone,
the Icelandic government has already
spent more than ever before on refund-
ing film projects through the tax incen-
tive: 392 million ISK on thirteen differ-
ent projects, four of which are features
that originated abroad.
Not the very best
Still, Iceland is by no means the only Eu-
ropean country to offer the 20% rebate.
In Ireland, for instance, up to 28% of ex-
penditure may be reimbursed and the
United Kingdom offers up to 80% tax
relief on total qualifying costs. In other
parts of the world, there are similar or
even larger tax rebates and moreover
the cost of living is significantly lower:
South African-shot films are eligible for
a 15% rebate, the Cayman Islands of-
fers a 30% reimbursement and in Fiji
it’s a 47% rebate on qualifying expen-
ditures.
Heather says that Spier Films fre-
quently forms co-production partner-
ships across different countries to take
advantage of tax incentives. “It has to
be said there are countries that offer
much higher tax incentives, but this
can be a grey area,” Heather says. “If a
production in South Africa, Canada or
Australia isn’t considered a ‘South Afri-
can,’ ‘Canadian’ or ‘Australian’ produc-
tion, then the tax rebate can be lower.”
And Einar concedes, “No one comes
just for the tax incentives. It’s about
everything that we offer,” eulogising
the natural landscape. “We have a dif-
ferent variety of spectacular, dramatic
landscapes all within easy reach—gla-
ciers, lakes, black beaches, waterfalls.
It makes a perfect alien planet for an
otherworldly sci-fi film.”
Iceland’s can-do spirit
Another vital factor, he argues, is the
positive work ethic of the Icelanders
with whom they work. Film In Iceland’s
promotional material is littered with
quotes from the great and the good of
Hollywood who have come to the coun-
try, including Clint Eastwood, who after
working here on his ‘Flags Of Our Fa-
thers’ said “I soon learned that Iceland
also has friendly, hardworking people
with a refreshing can-do spirit.”
Heather Millard agrees there are
many reasons why filmmakers come:
“First and foremost it is down to their
storyline. There is also the summer
season—24-hour daylight gives the op-
portunity to work longer days, cutting
down the number of days needed for
filming.” Institutional accessibility in
Iceland is another positive: “Unlike the
UK or USA where it can take weeks if
not months to be granted filming per-
mission, in Iceland you can film almost
anywhere and permission is given
much more rapidly.”
Nonetheless Heather sounds a
note of caution. “One other incentive
is the favourable exchange rate that
foreigners are now getting against the
króna, which wasn’t available before
the crash. It will be interesting to see
if the interest in filming in Iceland re-
mains this strong when the ISK begins
to strengthen again.”
Taxing Issue For Filmmakers In Iceland
Is the tax rebate for movie directors as big a draw as they say?
Words
Mark O'Brien
Photograph
Warner Bros.
“
It will be interesting to see
if the interest in filming
in Iceland remains this
strong when the ISK be-
gins to strengthen again.„
Snæfellsnes
Perhaps best known
as the place
where Jules
Verne’s heroes
start their ‘Jour-
ney To The Centre
Of The Earth,’ or
even as a preferred landing spot for
UFOs (if you don’t see them, don’t
worry, they are apparently invisible),
it also features heavily in the Laxness
novel ‘Under The Glacier,’ and film
version thereof.
Vík í Mýrdal
It’s fitting that Vík is a favourite loca-
tion for Viking epics, as the Vikings
themselves originally
derived their name
from another Vík
in Norway. With
a lake, a glacier,
black sands and an
impressive waterfall,
it has served as the
backdrop to not only ‘The Raven Flies,’
but also to the more recent ‘Beowulf
And Grendel,’ starring Gerard Butler.
The Westfjords
From the sign on Látrabjarg on the
westernmost corner telling you that
you have reached the
end of Europe to the
desolate Horn-
strandir, aban-
doned decades
ago, the Westfjords
really do seem like the
end of the world. They are
used as such to illustrate the isolation
of the outsider in ‘Nói The Albino’ and
also as the destination of the escape
from the old folks home in ‘Children Of
Nature.’‘
Three Icelandic
Places To Look Out
For In The Movies: