Hollywood Location Managers & Producers Visit Georgia

The Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development reports that producers and location managers from Hollywood are visiting Georgia from September 22 to September 30 to explore Georgia’s potential as a film-making location. They are exploring Batumi, Tskhaltubo, Chiatura, Kazbegi, Rustavi and the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi. During their one week stay, meetings are to be held with Georgian film sector members and producers who will introduce the existing film infrastructure in Georgia.

‘Film in Georgia’ is one of the Produce in Georgia program components, and the American film industry representatives are being hosted by the Produce in Georgia Agency.

The ‘Film in Georgia’ program is gaining interest, the Ministry of Economy of Georgia claims, with nine applications to film in Georgia received since the program kicked off last year, with the overall investment said to be GEL 15,182 million.

The American film industry representatives currently visiting Georgia, have worked on such films as Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries, Shutter Island, The Aviator, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Miss Congeniality, and 27 Dresses.

Their visit is expected to provide a boost to the Georgian film industry, and potential for Georgia to become an important filming spot in Eastern Europe.

The ‘Film in Georgia’ component was added to the Produce in Georgia initiative in 2016, enabling local and foreign producers to film in Georgia, with the chance to gain back 20-25% of expenses. In order to promote the program internationally, the Produce in Georgia Agency is organizing “Road Shows” through which information is spread to foreign producers regarding potential filming locations in Georgia.

Nino Gugunishvili