‘Wednesday’ Shooting Location Romania Looks to Rebuild Trust, Confidence With Revamped 30% Cash Rebate

After pressing pause on its cash rebate program due to outstanding debts and suffering through a prolonged production drought, Romania is finally coming in from the cold, with a revamped incentive scheme that is bolstering the hopes of the domestic industry heading into the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival and bringing foreign productions back to the Eastern European nation.

“We are in a really healthy place,” says Valentin Savu, manager of the Office for Film and Cultural Investments (OFIC), which was created in 2024 in an effort to restructure and relaunch the country’s beleaguered cash rebate program. “It’s one of the best times to shoot in Romania.”

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Two years after the cashback scheme was officially relaunched, the last of Romania’s outstanding debts have been repaid and the industry is back on solid footing, after concerted efforts to “reshape the whole cash rebate legislation,” according to Savu. The overhauled incentive scheme has been streamlined and fully digitized, with a three-step application process that is clear, transparent and “one of the fastest, most-reliable cash rebates in Europe,” he adds.

The new-look incentive offers a 30% cash rebate on eligible expenses in Romania, with a €10 million ($11.5 million) cap per project and a €55 million ($63.4 million) annual budget. Under the current legislation, the OFIC can sign financing agreements until the end of this year and pay reimbursements until the end of 2028, though talks are underway to extend the program an additional three years.

“What we have created, it’s a win-win situation for the producers and for the Romanian government,” Savu says. “The revamped, reshaped program is sustainable, and it’s bringing growth to the Romanian industry.”

Since the program was relaunched in July 2024, an estimated 70 film and TV projects have been or are in the process of being approved for eligibility, and nine have already been fully paid out. According to Savu, those productions have had budgets ranging from €1 million-€3 million ($1.2 million-$3.5 million) up to more than €20 million ($23 million), as the industry tries to offer the sorts of enticements that in the past lured productions such as Netflix’s “Wednesday” (pictured) and Sky Studios and Canal Plus’ big-budget “Django” TV series.

For local film and TV professionals, the cash rebate program’s efficiency and reliability will be key to determining the direction of the industry moving forward.

“Obviously, the confidence and trust and reputation of the country and the companies were affected to a significant degree,” says Bogdan Moncea, head of production at Bucharest-based Castel Film Studios, which hosted Prime Video’s historical drama miniseries “The Gray House.” With the cash rebate up and running, however, that confidence is finally returning.

“People are more interested in coming back to Romania,” he says. “We’ve been in discussion for many more projects since the beginning of this year.”

Iuliana Tarnovețchi, of Bucharest-based Alien Film, who has serviced high-profile international shoots including the Sony Pictures Television series “Alex Rider” and BBC America’s “Killing Eve,” agrees, noting that interest is ticking up across the industry. “We are all budgeting a lot,” she tells Variety. “We all have projects coming in the second half of the year.”

The timing couldn’t be better for the Romanian biz, which is still basking in the limelight of a second Palme d’Or for veteran auteur Cristian Mungiu, who triumphed at this year’s Cannes Film Festival with the Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve-starring “Fjord.” It was the latest accolade for an industry that has arguably punched above its weight in the 20 years since Mungiu and compatriots like Cristi Puiu (“The Death of Mr. Lazarescu”) and Corneliu Porumboiu (“12:08 East of Bucharest”) heralded the arrival of the Romanian New Wave, with fellow filmmakers like Golden Bear winner Radu Jude (“Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn”) continuing that tradition.

Tarnovețchi, who has also produced domestic titles including Ruxandra Ghițescu Transilvania prizewinner “Otto the Barbarian,” says that “what is happening with Romanian film internationally, with the historical success of Mungiu, will help the Romanian film industry to reinvigorate.” Veteran director-producer and TIFF founder Tudor Giurgiu agrees, arguing that he and his counterparts in industry and government “have to build now on the momentum” and shore up support for local film.

“On an industry level, I think now is the perfect moment for the politicians to recognize that the film fund needs more support,” he says. “They need more money, and the producers alliance is lobbying strongly to the Minister of Finance and the [Romanian National Film Center]. I think there will be important changes and good changes for filmmakers, while also the cash rebate scheme is finally working.”

For his part, Savu notes that “the entire Romanian industry is now united” and shares a “common voice” as it looks ahead to a future that grows brighter by the day.

“It’s not only about the 30% cash rebate which we offer. It is also about crew and talent. It’s also about efficiency, because in Romania, you can experience significantly lower production costs compared to Western Europe,” Savu says. “We have a governmental body that has a lot of support services for pre-production, during production, post-production. We have world-class studios. We have an infinity of locations. We have a lot of things that we can offer. 

“We need to see people coming back to Romania — and that’s already happening,” he continues. “We are here. We are ready. The program is live. The infrastructure exists. The talent is proven. The cash rebate is funded. We only have one single question: When do you want to start filming?”

The Transilvania Intl. Film Festival runs June 12 – 21.