Hot Spots: How Serbia Has Quietly Become A Competitive European Destination For Foreign Film Shoots

deadline.com:

As producers across the globe continue to feel the effects of inflation on their budgets, a growing number of European countries have been seeking to alleviate some of that budget squeeze as they battle it out to entice foreign projects to shoot on their home turf.

One front runner in this race is Serbia, which has been quietly establishing itself as a trusted and attractive destination for global producers.

The Balkan country not only has one of the lowest production costs in Europe but offers a tried and tested 25% to 30% rebate on local spend an established professional film crew, varied locations and a host of world class film studios that have seen the country fast become a sought-after destination for international productions to set up camp.  “We never really advertise our services in Serbia,” says producer Andjelka Vlaisavljevic, who is largely considered one of the early producers to lure Hollywood into Serbia via her Belgrade-based outfit Works In Progress. “I think our work actually does the job for us and it has since spread through word-of-mouth.

We are Eastern European and there are these stereotypes of us not being transparent, but these are just that – stereotypes. And anyone that has worked here in Serbia and is familiar with our stellar production services, particularly in the production design and accounting departments, knows that we are honest and fair and develop strong relationships with many of the production teams who come to shoot here.”  Vlaisavljevic’s company has facilitated a huge number of large projects into the country such as Netflix’s Glass Onion, Johnny Depp starrer Minamata and British-American crime series Miss Scarlet and The Duke. “We have a fantastic relationship with that