Romanian Industry Looks to Break Impasse Over Hamstrung Rebate System as Lawsuits Pile Up

variety.com:

Christopher Vourlias Amid a host of lawsuits by foreign productions looking to recoup money from Romania’s beleaguered cash rebate system, industry insiders say the situation has reached a crisis point, with one leading U.K.

financier and executive producer warning that the government runs the risk of “obliterating foreign direct investment” into Romania if a resolution isn’t reached in the coming weeks.Nearly a dozen lawsuits are currently active in the Romanian court system, which last month ordered the government to pay roughly $642,000 plus legal fees to the producers of “The World to Come” (pictured), writer-director Mona Fastvold’s romantic frontier drama starring Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterston, which filmed in Romania in 2019.

The government has appealed the ruling. The U.K. financier, who has two decades of experience in the country, says that an impasse now dragging into its third year has caused “immense reputational damage” to both the government and the industry. “It’s a very bad look for the country,” they say.Despite the legal logjam, Romania continues to lure high-profile productions drawn to its varied locations, highly skilled crews and competitive costs.

Among the projects it’s hosted in the past year are Tim Burton’s “Wednesday,” the upcoming Addams Family series for Netflix, and “Django,” the English-language reimagining of Sergio Corbucci’s classic 1966 Western, a Sky Studios and Canal Plus original that was arguably Europe’s biggest TV production in 2021.Negotiations with foreign producers nevertheless have to concede that the Romanian cashback scheme isn’t on the table. “We’ve been straightforward with everybody and told them that currently we don’t budget with the rebate in mind,” says.