Brazil’s Incentives on the Uptick

Gregg Goldstein Let’s face it: Massachusetts is not well-known for its post-production facilities. While there are a few impressive Boston-based companies — including Soundtrack Group for ADR/sound, EditBar for editing, Color Refinery for color and Brickyard VFX for effects — their efforts are mainly focused on commercials projects.

Carole Horst Marina Cappi read all the signs: film and series production in Massachusetts was increasing, lawmakers extended the state’s very attractive production credit and there was a desperate need for soundstage space. To commercial real estate veteran Cappi, building a soundstage and studio campus made good business sense.Marina Studios — the only dedicated soundstage near Boston — opened in 2021 in Quincy, Mass.’ Marina Bay, offering over 26,000 square-feet of space just a 12-minute drive from Logan Intl.

Malina Saval Associate Editor, FeaturesIt was the late 1990s and future Oscar-winning “CODA” filmmaker Siân Heder was ambling across Harvard Square, close to the home in which she grew up in Cambridge, Mass. There, near the Au Bon Pain sandwich shop on Brattle Street, Heder spotted two buddies from Cambridge Ringe and Latin School, then-unknowns Ben and Casey Affleck, shooting a scene for “Good Will Hunting,” the 1997 film that would score two Academy Awards, help usher in the era of Big Screen Boston and turn the Affleck brothers and Matt Damon, all actors in the movie and Massachusetts natives (“Massholes” in the local vernacular), into giant Hollywood stars.“I knew Ben and Casey from high school — their mom was my teacher in third and fifth grade,” Heder says.

Marcos Leta, CEO, and Founder of Future Farm. “She represents a lot of who we are: a fun, futuristic, different, honest brand, and together we want to show that it is possible to eat what we like in a more conscious and always tasty way.

Bernie Ecclestone has been arrested for illegally carrying a gun while boarding a private plane to Switzerland, it has been reported.MORE: Bernie Ecclestone and wife Fabiana welcome first baby boy and reveal nameThe arrest took place at Viracopos airport in Campinas, Brazil on Wednesday night, with local police confirming the news the following day. Bernie Ecclestone with his wife FabianaIn a statement, released by Brazilian police, they confirmed an undocumented LW Seecamp .32 gun was found in the 91-year-old's luggage during an X-ray screening.

Formula 1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone has been arrested in Brazil over illegally carrying a gun at an airport, it has been confirmed by local police. The 91 year old was travelling from Viracopos International Airport in Brazil to Switzerland with a private jet when he was detained by Brazilian authorities.The security X-ray detected an undocumented 32-calibre LW Seecamp pistol in a shirt pocket, which was located in Ecclestone’s luggage. Ecclestone admitted to Brazilian police that he was the owner of the gun but did not realise it was in his suitcase.

Philippines on Sunday launched UniPhilippines, an incentive program that will reward overseas distributors of Philippines films.The FDCP also added to its stock of international cooperation agreements by promising to work with the new Mongolian National Film Council.UniPhilippines will provide up to $8,000 to distributors to underwrite their promotion and marketing costs when releasing Philippines film titles. It is hoped that the incentive will cause more Philippines films to be acquired and that the conditions of their release can be improved.The scheme is open all year round, is selective in its disbursement, and does not require recoupment.

Naman Ramachandran Paris and Mumbai-based production service company La Fabrique Films is looking forward to a further surge in business in the wake of new Indian filming incentives that were announced in Cannes.International productions filming in India can be reimbursed up to 35% of qualifying production spend in the country.La Fabrique, which specializes in European films shooting in India, has been operational since 2013 and films they have provided production services for include “Les Cowboys,” “The Best Is Yet to Come” and “And Tomorrow We Will Be Dead.” La Fabrique has just wrapped work on Laetitia Colombani’s “The Braid” and company principals Déborah Benattar and Javed Wani are currently attending the Cannes Film Market. The initial reimbursement for international shoots in India is 30%, which can go up by an additional 5% for productions employing 15% or more manpower in India.“The incentives will be a great advantage for foreign producers who decide to come and shoot in India also, because there is this bonus of 5%, they may want to employ more Indian technicians, because, from our experience, we have amazing technicians in India.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Long established as a venue for festivals devoted to music and the performing arts, Brazil’s alpine city of Campos do Jordão has also hosted audiovisual industry events, led by the annual showcase of upcoming releases, the Winter Show. Now on its 13th year, it was paused for two years because of the pandemic.With the launch of FestCampos, new screening venues are being constructed, says Sergio Sá Leitão, São Paulo State Secretary of Culture.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Taking place over May 13-22 in Brazil’s highest city, the verdant mountain resort town of Campos do Jordão, more akin to a northern European city thanks to its architecture and pine tree forests, the maiden FestCampos Cultural has launched this year in tandem with the 13th Winter Show, an annual Brazilian audiovisual industry event not unlike CinemaCon where exhibitors and distributors tout the latest releases.The free activities include screenings of current releases, video projections and panels.A key component of FestCampos is a series of 18 online interviews, FestCampos Talks, kicking off on May 21, comprising conversations with prominent international film and TV industry players who will expound on the practices and trends in content production and distribution.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentBrazilian writer-director Caru Alves de Souza, whose second feature, “My Name Is Baghdad,” won the Crystal Bear for best film at Berlin’s 2020 Generation 14plus sidebar, has been selected for the Pop Up Film Residency 2022 program.Alves de Souza will use the Residency to develop “Lonely Hearts,” her new fiction feature.The award was announced Saturday at Cannes Marché du Film by Josephine Bourgois and Rachel do Valle, executive director and program director at Brazil’s Projeto Paradiso, which is backing the prize, and former Cannes Critics’ Week programmer Matthieu Darras, creator of Pop Up.Alves de Souza will participate in the mentoring program for the development of a fiction feature, which runs over three weeks, in August, in Vilnius, Lithuania. She will receive a Paradiso Scholarship and travel support in the amount of Reais 5,000 ($1,000), in addition to becoming part of the Paradiso Talent Network.

Naman Ramachandran Australian film “The Laugh of Lakshmi,” by renowned theater director turned filmmaker S. Shakthidharan, will be one of the first films to make use of the newly announced Indian filming incentives.The film, a dance drama, is the story of a mother and a son separated by war.

Naman Ramachandran India’s long awaited location shooting incentive scheme is now a reality. At the Cannes Film Market on Wednesday, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur revealed a 30% reimbursement scheme for international productions shooting in India.The Indian federal government will reimburse up to 30% of qualifying production expenditure to a maximum of INR20 million ($260,000).