VFX Biz Gains Big Boost from New French Production Policies
Ben Croll For some time, the French VFX sector suffered an acute case of brain drain, as young professionals would graduate from internationally admired institutions and nearly immediately take their talents abroad.“Years ago, when I spoke with students from [the renowned school] ArtFX, something like 95% of them planned to leave after graduation,” says VFX supervisor Emmanuel Pichereau. “Only when I consulted with this year’s graduating class, I saw many of them change their mind about staying in France.”What changed, of course, has much to do with France’s newly revamped tax plan, which now offers a 40% rebate to productions that spend at least $2.27 million with local VFX studios.