Written by Kianna Best on Aug 11, 2022. Posted in Incentive News

Valais launches new film commission and cash rebate incentive

The Valais Film Commission was launched at this year's Locarno Film Festival on 6 August 2022. The new Swiss body has introduced its 15-35% cash rebate for audiovisual production planning to film in Valais along with all provided services. 

Delivering words of welcome for the new organisation, president of the Ticino Film Commission Nicola Pini stated: “It is an honour for us to have led the way and to have contributed to the development of these organisations, such as the Valais Film Commission, which we certainly do not see as a competitor, but rather as an ally in favour of Swiss filmmaking.” 

Image courtesy of the Valais Film Commission

Hosted at the Davide Campari Lounge, a press conference was held to make the announcement of the newest Swiss based film commission. Attendees included State Councillor Mathias Reynard, Valais Film Commission president Vincent Reynar, Valais/Wallis Promotion Director Damian Constantin, producer Sophie Toth and Valais film commissioner Tristan Albreicht. Valais joins the Swiss film commission network consisting of the Ticino Film Commission, the Zurich Film Commission and the Lucerne and Central Switzerland Film Commission. 

Image courtesy of Angelo Burgener by Unsplash

Inspired by the programme offered from the example of Cine Tirol, the commission also announced the details of their incentive alongside their provided services. Two funding routes are available for productions to take advantage of. The first is the reimbursement of eligible expenses and salaries. In order to apply for this, projects must be either a fictional feature film, animation or series, have at least five days of filming in Valais, and a minimum expenditure of CHF 100,000 in Valais. The second fund is assigned to ad hoc grants for documentaries, short films and reality television. This will provide one-off grants ranging from CHF 10,000 to 30,000. 

Image courtesy of the Valais Film Commission

The presence of the newest addition to the Swiss network of film commissions is an expansion of the support for the local visual industries. Collaborators for the organisation include the Canton of Valais, Valais/Wallis Promotion and Valais Film, Valais’ society of audiovisual professionals. The main goal is to ascertain Valais’ position as a leading and appealing filming location for Swiss and international audiovisual productions.