Small Country, Deep Pockets: How To Make (And Fund) Films In Switzerland

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) At this year's Cannes film Festival Switzerland was the 'guest of honour' of the Marché du Film, the most coveted film market in the world. It showed the money trail to Swiss co-productions and how the country deals with the past and the future of cinema.

There is an enormous, subterranean world beneath the red carpets, celebrities, luxury brands and world premieres staged at the Cannes Film Festival. Literally beneath the iconic red stairs of the Grand Théâtre Lumière, Cannes also hosts the biggest annual gathering of film professionals: the Marché du Film, considered the“heart of the film industry”, is an essential hub for producers, distributors and delegates from festivals and institutions. It's where many films effectively start – and where they eventually are sold (or not).

The latest edition of the Marché, which ran from May 14 to 22, chose Switzerland as Country of Honour. The Swiss brought a substantial delegation with officials from Swiss Films (the national agency for film promotion), the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) (SWI swissinfo's parent company).

Considering that Switzerland is a small country with relatively deep pockets, its film industry relies massively on international co-productions. At the Marché, the Swiss had a privileged opportunity to showcase their talents in different fields of film work, help them enlarge their networks, and increase their visibility on an international level – all the while talking the talk that matters here: money.

According to the latest figures, Switzerland produces an average of 80 feature-length films annually, 43% of which are co-productionsExternal link . Participants discussed advantages and inconveniences of the Swiss funding schemes, which may be generous but also differ broadly from region to region.

During an industry panel about film commissions, Zurich Film Fund's managing director Julia Krättli pointed out that, while the majority of the financing comes from the Federal Office of Culture, followed by the SBC and regional funds, not every regional fund has the same spending obligations.

In fact, the decentralised structure is further reflected in the regional network that groups film commissions. For its 26 cantons, Switzerland only has six film commissions (Ticino Film Commission, Valais Film Commission, Film Commission Zurich, Film Commission Bern, Film Commission Lucerne & Central Switzerland, Film Location Riviera), each with different priorities, offers and economic capacities.

In common, though, they all share the goals of attracting film capital with offers of specialised services and labour for film productions – and convincing politicians to enhance their attractivity with tax concessions, subventions and favourable rules and laws.

Switzerland's approach to film financing includes a national film investment refund programme (PICS)External link rather than a tax incentive. While tax incentives reduce the amount of taxes a company must pay, a cash rebate system consists of refunding 20% to 40% of its expenses. On a regional level, the Valais Film Commission, launched in 2022, offers its own cash rebate incentive.

This initiative will be followed by Film Commission Zurich, as announced by its managing director Dino Malacarne, who also revealed the inauguration of a production incentive that will offer financial contribution to films shot in the Zurich area. During the same panel, Malacarne emphasised that“if we don't start working with incentives in Switzerland, then it won't be possible for us to compete with countries abroad”.

One key takeaway about the co-production opportunities Switzerland presents is their focus on attracting foreign partners and talents to the country, rather than making Swiss films appealing to international audiences.

This domestic focus is also evident in the 4% Film Act, known as Lex Netflix, which came into force in January. The act requires VoD (video on demand) services to invest 4% of their gross income in Swiss productions. According to Julia Krättli, the effective results of this policy are yet to be seen. For now, Netflix has taken on a co-producer role in TV projects such as Winter Palace External link and Early BirdsExternal lin .

This content was published on Mar 24, 2022 A referendum is being held on a new law requiring video streaming services like Netflix and Amazon to pay a tax that will benefit Swiss film productions.

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