The Romanian Minister of Culture said in a statement: “The initiative will bring Romania in line with other countries in the region – including Hungary and the Czech Republic. The Romanian stand in Cannes aims to support the local film industry so that Romania can be competitive in the region and to attract foreign film productions.”

Romania’s film studios had lobbied for the incentives, jointly commissioning a report by Price Waterhouse Coopers on the opportunities and impact on GDP of new studio investment and the contribution of the new tax incentives.

Taking advantage of the move, the former Media Pro film studio is relaunching as Bucharest Film Studios with new management team, under new owners headed by Bobby Paunescu and Donald Kushner. Bucharest Film Studios said it will contribute an estimated 200 m EUR in production spend to Romania’s GDP with productions in the 20-30 m EUR range qualifying for tax relief.