10 P.R. films to get $1M in gov’t funding, tax credits
As part of the Department of Economic Development and Commerce’s “Year of the Puerto Rican film,” agency executives announced 10 local productions will receive $1 million in support through the Film Investment Fund.
The filmmakers will also receive tax credits through Law 27 for local projects. The combined incentives represent the $1 million, while production houses will invest $4.4 million in their films. Together, they are expected to generate 941 jobs, Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Manuel Laboy said.
“Thanks to the new Film Investment Fund that we recently created, together with the tax credits provided by Law 27, today we announce the endorsement of the filming of 10 Puerto Rican productions,” he said.
“With this significant higher endorsement to local projects, we take a strong step in supporting our local film industry,” Laboy said. “We are at a key moment, when we anticipate that 2018-2019 will be the year of the Puerto Rican film.”
The changes to the laws replace the former loan-based system with a “more agile, practical and sustainable repayable monetary stimulus,” Laboy said.
“We’re creating a new model that is helping the growth of the Puerto Rican cinematographic industry, creating jobs related to this sector and contributing to Puerto Rico’s socio-economic and cultural development,” Laboy added.
Meanwhile, Puerto Rico Film Industry Development program Executive Director Pedro Rúa-Jovet said the combination of the Film Investment Fund and the Film Incentives Law “have created an ecosystem.”
“With part of the revenues generated for the Film Program, we can now provide up to 25 percent of the budget, with a cap of $125,000 per project, to shoot local films, in exchange for a percentage of the income generated,” Rúa-Jovet said.
“We continue betting on the success of film projects, generating profits and the public support of these films in movie theaters on the island and the world,” he said.
The 10 films endorsed, which are at multiple stages of the production process are: “Julia de Burgos: “Julia de Burgos: Una leyenda en veinte surcos,” by Alvaro Calderón; “Perfume de Gardenias,” by Gisela Rosario and Arlene Cruz; “La Pecera,” by Glorimar Marrero; “Receta no Incluida,” by Vilma Liella López and Juliana Irizarry; “Los Mecánicos,” “El Hijo Perdido” y “Al Revés,” by Eduardo ‘Transfor’ Ortiz; “Otra Boda en Castañer” and “Las Super Estrellas de la Lucha Libre,” by Carlos Nido; and “El Mundo Secreto de Marina,” by Sonia Fritz.
“A positive aspect of the new Film Investment Fund worth emphasizing is that it works as a uniform tool that doesn’t benefits some projects over others,” Rúa-Jovet said. “When the call was made, we had all kinds of projects: drama, comedy, artistic and commercial films.”
“We will promote the realization of the projects that are ready; all with the same tools. We identify what helps our industry to grow and we will continue to strongly support the production of Puerto Rican films,” he said.
