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Kaua‘i offers such sensational and versatile scenery that it has represented Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, Central and South America and more. Consider filming in a professional and supportive community that understands the magic of making movies.

For information on filming on Kaua‘i, please call 808.241.4953 or visit filmkauai.com

Like Another World

WHAT’s three times bigger than Texas and larger than Western Europe? The answer is Western Australia (WA), which occupies roughly one third of the entire Australian continent. As a result of its vast size — it extends nearly 1,500 miles from the tropical north to the coastal heaths of the far south — WA can ofer flmmakers just about any look under the sun, from urban city streets to idyllic seaside towns, endless plains, snow-white beaches, rich-red deserts, impenetrable forest and picturesque lakes — and otherworldly locations including Hutt Lagoon, also known as the Pink Lake. “The sweeping Swan River winds its way through the urban oasis of Perth, which boasts historic neighbourhoods and is complemented by one of the biggest inner-city parks in the

Screen Tax Incentives

AUSTRALIA’s globally competitive incentives span grants and tax rebates for eligible Qualifying Australian Production Expenditure (QAPE). For international productions flming in Australia, these include the Location Ofset, which ofers a 16.5% tax rebate on QAPE, and the Location Incentive, which ofers a grant of up to 13.5%. The latter is a merit-assessed grant for projects that meet the requirements of the Location Ofset. To be eligible for the Location Incentive, productions must world,” Screenwest’s head of production, Chris Verhuis, says. WA ofers the highest state incentive in Australia. Its burgeoning flm industry is also about to be bolstered by two new sounds stages, slated to open in mid-2025, which will complement the existing East Perth facility. WA’s recent credits include award-winning coming-of-age flm Sweet As, which was flmed in the regional town of Port Hedland and Karijini National Park; Robert Connolly’s marine-life drama Blueback; Paul Goldman’s 1970s boxing drama Kid Snow for Unicorn Films; and the third season of ABC’s Mystery Road: Origin. Coming up in 2023 are family movies Whale Shark Jack and Drone Racers, which are flming in WA’s stunning Gascoyne and Pilbara regions respectively. have confrmed support from at least one state or territory government. This can increase savings by up to 10% in addition to the Australian Government Location Ofset and Incentive programme. Australia’s states and territories also ofer generous incentives and grants for productions wishing to flm in their regions; or for productions undertaking post, sound, music and visual efects with post and VFX studios in their states. In addition, the PDV Ofset is a 30% tax rebate for productions that undertake post, digital and visual efects in Australia. This can be combined with up to 15% from state and territory government incentives.

Gibson says that 2023 is shaping up to be another bumper year, kicking of with the latest in a suite of NBCUniversal/ Matchbox collaborations, Apples Never Fall, which started flming at VRS in March. The limited series, based on the bestselling book by Australian author Liane Moriaty (Nine Perfect Strangers, Big Little Lies), stars Annette Bening and Sam Neill.

Down in southeastern Australia, meanwhile, Victoria has also had a busy couple of years hosting premium international projects, including sci-f thriller Foe, starring Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal; season two of NBC’s sci-f hit La Brea; Michael Gracey’s biopic of Robbie Williams, Better Man; and epic adventure Shantaram, which premiered late last year on Apple TV+. Currently flming in the state is Academy Award-winning director Peter Farrelly’s new comedy Ricky Stanicky and crime thriller Sleeping Dogs, starring Russell Crowe and Karen Gillan.

Joe Brinkmann, VicScreen’s head of incentives and production support, runs through Victoria’s USPs, which range from a world-class screen ecosystem through competitive grants to spectacular — and spectacularly diverse — locations that can morph into just about anywhere in the world.

“Victoria’s capital, Melbourne, has doubled for a huge list of locations, from Boston to New York, Paris, Baltimore, Turkey, Dubai and Colombia,” Brinkmann says, noting that Melbourne is currently standing in for Rhode Island in Ricky Stanicky and a US east-coast university town in Sleeping Dogs. “We have a great mix of heritage, modern, art deco and contemporary streetscapes that can be transformed into any location,” he says. “Melbourne was even transformed into the bustling city of Mumbai for Shantaram. And just a short drive from the city, we also have beaches, forests, mountains, coastal villages…”

Another plus point is that Melbourne is Australia’s major events capital — a feature that came in handy during the flming of Robbie William’s biopic Better Man, which was shot live at the UK singer’s sold-out concert at Melbourne Rod Laver Arena last year. “Rod Laver is known for hosting the biggest names, from David Bowie to Taylor Swift,” Brinkmann adds. “It’s great to have venues like that in our back pocket to bring ambitious productions to life.”

Melbourne also boasts one of the largest sound stages in the Southern Hemisphere at Docklands Studios Melbourne, which is in the process of being ftted with a cutting-edge virtual-production infrastructure. The technology will include the largest permanent LED volumes in the world — hightech digital screens that can display realistic background environments and visual efects. Brinkmann says these will transform Victoria into a “global screen destination” on a par with Los Angeles, New York, London and Vancouver.

In common with the rest of Australia, Victoria ofers experienced crews, with international productions relying heavily on local skill and expertise. “A current example is that we have over 1,000 Victorians working on Ricky Stanicky,” Brinkmann says, adding that director Peter Farrelly is on record as saying that the production’s Victorian crew is “as good as he’s ever had anywhere in the world”.

Farrelly’s assessment of Australian crews could as easily be applied to the country’s locations, incentives, studios, post-productions facilities and screen talent, all of which rank among the best in the world. Ron Howard, who flmed Thirteen Lives, his gripping retelling of the 2018 Thai caves rescue mission, on Queensland’s Gold Coast, put it another way: in Australia, he said, “You can just get a lot of good work done”.