New MoU Aims to Strengthen U.K.-Austria Screen Ties

The British Film Commission and Film in Austria have signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance film and high-end TV collaborations between the two countries.

The alliance comes following the introduction of new film and TV production incentives in Austria, while BFI recently released new figures showing inward investment production spend in the U.K. hit a record £5.37 billion last year.

Titles that have been filmed across both the U.K. and Austria include Netflix’s The Witcher.

The MoU will see the two commissions encouraging cultural, commercial and creative exchange between the U.K. and Austria and fostering inward investment into the film and high-end TV sectors in both countries.

Arie Bohrer, Austria’s National Film Commissioner, stated: “The British film industry was and is a worldwide example of professionalism. I remember in the past, when U.S. productions came to Austria—a large number of the crew were from the U.K. Generations of Austrian filmmakers gained a lot of experience through the cooperation with the British crew. We hope that the new Austrian incentive will not only raise the number of big productions shooting in Austria but also create opportunities for future co-productions between Austria and the U.K.”

Adrian Wootton OBE, chief executive of the British Film Commission, noted: “It is an extremely exciting time for the global film and high-end TV industry. The U.K. continues to experience remarkable growth in production, generating billions of pounds for the U.K. economy and thousands of new jobs. Providing these opportunities for growth remains vital to the continued success of the industry globally. We are delighted to be building on our relationship with Film in Austria through this new friendship agreement, having previously supported a number of titles filming in both territories from The Witcher to Spectre. We are committed to continuing our positive and fruitful work with our Austrian friends, forging even stronger relationships between our two countries to ensure a frictionless and film-friendly service for productions.”