Country as a movie set

Salzburgers come very close to Hollywood

Hollywood star Nicole Kidman is filming a series in the province of Salzburg until mid-May.(Bild: APA/Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

The province is promoting films and TV series, helping Salzburgers to make the leap to the big screen. 

Hollywood star Nicole Kidman is filming in and around the city of Mozart for the TV series "Nine Perfect Strangers" until May. This is no longer a secret. Nor is it a secret or even a coincidence that other major film and TV productions also like to choose the Salzburg region as a backdrop.

Salzburg is a popular film backdrop(Bild: Hörmandinger Reinhard)

"Salzburg now has a very good reputation among international filmmakers, not least because we financially support commercial TV and cinema productions as well as art films," explains Deputy Governor Stefan Schnöll. By the end of last year, for example, the province had granted around a dozen funding commitments for productions such as "School of Champions", "Watzmann ermittelt" and "Tiger 3". Financial support is provided to producers and screenwriters who carry out a production in the province of Salzburg.

The ORF series "School of Champions" is supported by the province of Salzburg. Filming locations and settings included Bad Gastein and Bad Hofgastein.(Bild: Stefanie Leo)

"In recent years, we have succeeded in bringing some world-famous films to Salzburg," says Schnöll, pleased with the development of the local film and television scene. One of the most important prerequisites for receiving film funding: The domestic film industry must also be involved. For example, around 200 Austrian extras were given the chance to film side by side with Hollywood megastar Nicole Kidman in the Salzkammergut for the series "Nine Perfect Strangers". "It is important to us that the productions also bring macroeconomic benefits for our province," explains Schnöll. In concrete terms, this means the creation of jobs as part of the respective productions - whether helicopter pilots for aerial stunt scenes, set production managers or small actors.

Summarized in figures, the basic funding provides for a non-repayable grant of 30 percent of the costs for each project realized in Austria. In the case of the Kidman series, this amounts to 150,000 euros. Productions can secure further bonuses if, for example, they meet climate-friendly criteria during filming. The maximum funding is 5 million euros per film and 7.5 million euros per series.