WATCH ⟩ The actions of the Ministry’s officials threaten the shooting of foreign cinema in Latvia

In December, LIAA reviewed and supported 7 new film ideas, which are planned to be filmed in Latvia this year. They were submitted by local film producers who found and persuaded foreign colleagues to come to Latvia to work.

This year’s forecast was that the compensation will be around 3 million euros. But cinema creators will contribute much more to the state budget – over 4 million. In addition, the total amount of money that cinema people could bring to Latvia and spend here during this year is estimated at around 16 million euros.

But the previously created order, which has allowed Latvia to successfully compete with other countries, is threatened by the Ministry of Finance. It wants to change the order of which taxes will be compensated and which will not. Until now, both VAT and personal income tax and social tax have been repaid. The officials of the Ministry of Finance want to change this support program and compensate only for VAT.

“Cinevilla Films” by Andreja Īkis has been cooperating with the German television company ZDF for several years, filming the series SISI. It is a historical drama about Empress Elizabeth of Austria-Hungary, which has already experienced several seasons. Filmed in various countries, including Latvia – Old Riga, Rundāle Palace and other places. Latvia was chosen as a location because it is cheaper to film here than in Austria or Hungary, where the historical events actually took place.

The filmmakers explain that it is the most difficult to gain the trust of foreign partners. Latvia is foreign to many and a huge amount of work has to be invested in order to convince them to move their multimillion-dollar film projects in whole or in part directly to Latvia.