Bucharest Film Studios, one of Eastern Europe’s largest production facilities, has revealed a new management team, headed by owners Bobby Paunescu and Donald Kushner, as Romania crafts tax incentives that will be introduced by the end of the year.
The studios, formally known as Media Pro, have 19 sound stages surrounded by a 110-acre backlot. Four of the stages have indoor water tanks, including one 19,490 sq.ft. tank, one of the largest in Europe. The studios hope to contribute an estimated Euros 200 million ($226 million) a year in production spend to Romania’s GDP.
The Romanian Culture Ministry claims the initiative will allow Romania to compete with other countries in the region, including Hungary and the Czech Republic, for Hollywood movies. Productions in the Euros 20 million ($22.6 million)-Euros 30 million ($33.9 million) range will qualify for the tax relief, which will be worth between 20-30% of the budget.
Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu commented: “The relaunch of Bucharest Studios combined with the new cinema law can ensure the whole industry will benefit from lower production costs while keeping highly skilled crews. I believe we showed with our films that Romania is a country where good quality cinema could be produced and I hope to see more foreign productions coming to shoot in Romania in the following years.”
