Sao Paulo opens potential 30% rebate for incoming productions

Sao Paulo’s film and audiovisual agency, Spcine, has officially opened its rebate worth between 20% to 30% of local spend as the Latin American city looks to attract more international projects.

The scheme was announced last year and is available to film, TV and commercial productions that spend at least $380,000 (R$2m) in the city and use a local production partner. There is no cap on the rebate amount available to each production.

Sao Paulo City Hall has set aside $1.6m for the first round of applications, which is open from 6 October through to 31 December, 2021.

"São Paulo is such a diverse city, it has huge potential as a filming location, whatever the genre. We're excited to see that the cash rebate scheme has now launched and look forward to seeing how our international clients take advantage of this,” says Nick Story, executive director of local outfit Story Productions, who have shot several TV shows and documentaries in the city recently, working with clients remotely.

There is also an incentive of R$15,000 ($2,900) for location scouts to explore the city. 

Production companies in São Paulo already account for 25% of Brazilian production. Since May 2016, when the São Paulo Film Commission was created as a department of Spcine, more than 3,300 productions (including local and foreign) have shot in the city, generating a revenue of more than $400m. Recent cases include the series Black Mirror, Sense8 and Keanu Reeves’ Conquest.

Home to more than 20million people, the city offers distinctive downtown skylines, modern and colonial architectural styles, urban nature, a street art scene including graffiti walls, and futuristic vistas.