Following successful participation in a series of international and local events, Serbia has demonstrated its potential to become the most attractive film service destination in the region for international productions. The Serbia Film Commission, under the “FilminSerbia” brand (www.filminserbia.com), participated for the second year at the Locations Trade Show in Santa Monica, which was the 25^thjubilee by the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI).  The Serbia Film Commission became an official member of AFCI in February 2010, and through participating in this event is able to compete with more traditional locations for international productions.  For example, Serbia was exhibiting next to Jordan, where the “Hurt Locker” was shot, and Morocco, which hosted parts of the upcoming “Sex and the City” sequel, demonstrating the country’s ambition to attract international filmmakers. Regionally, the Czech Republic and Hungary were among exhibitors, and Croatia presented itself for the first time. 

Parallel with the trade show exhibition, the Serbia Film Commission organized luncheons with independent producers and film studio executives from Universal, Fox, CBS, Walden Media, Columbia and Dream Works, who expressed strong interest in Serbia for future projects.  The Serbia Film Commission is also attending the Cannes film festival and Marche du Filmin Cannes from May 12 to 21, where they will have further opportunities to promote Serbia’s advantages to international producers.

The Serbia Film Commission’s goal is to provide superior, specialized information on the Serbian film sector in order to encourage international production activity in the region.  “The interest in Serbia as an outsourcing film destination has significantly increased. During the past twleve months we have had producers scouting Serbia for projects with a  total value of more than $360 million“, said Ana Ilic, Executive Director of the Serbia Film Commission.   The positive experience of those who have already worked in Serbia is spreading throughout the industry, especially after the high quality projects such as „Coriolanus“ that generated over 250 news articles in international media emphasizing why Ralph Fiennes chose Serbia for the project. 

The Serbia Film Commission, which now has 53 members is strongly advocating for the introduction of film incentives for international film and TV projects, that would be based on similar models adopted in other countries, such as Hungary, and have transformed their local industry.  As noted by Ilic, „Having an incentive programwill bring significantly more work to the 4,000 film industry professional in Serbia and as well as growing revenue and jobs in related industries that support film logistics, including hotels, construction, and transportation services.”