Cinema Week : positioning Mauritius as an idyllic film shooting destination

The Mauritius Cinema Week will be held from 5 to 8 October 2017. For this event, the first of its kind, themed 'East meets West', film directors, celebrities and artists  have been invited to promote our film industry in the wake of the successful  shooting of “Serenity” which marks a new beginning for the nascent film industry. One of the segments emphasized is the creative industries.  The event is anticipated as the first edition of an annual feature based on the theme of Love and Romance to boost our island’s idyllic reputation around the world.

International films that champion the cause of freedom and independence, be it individual pursuits and dreams, or the struggle for freedom and independence of a people or a country, will be featured. Mauritians at large will have the opportunity to watch these productions that have left an indelible imprint on the global conscience.  The event will be graced by the involvement and participation of high-profile guests from India, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and South Africa.

Mr. Ken Poonoosamy, Managing Director of the Board of Investment, presented the event from an economic perspective, pointing out that the main objective is to further promote the film industry through the Film Rebate Scheme (FRS). He explained how this promotional week will be an opportunity to bring together international actors, producers, film directors on a single platform to enable them to evaluate the attractiveness and competitiveness of our Film Rebate Scheme.

From 2013 to date, the Board of Investment (BOI) has approved a total of 83 film projects out of which 56 projects have been produced and completed under the Film Rebate Scheme. This represents an approximate input of MUR 1.5 billion as Qualifying Production Expenditure (QPE) incurred and spent in Mauritius. These productions have been achieved by producers from different countries and they form part of different categories of production.  India represents 43% of our existing market; South Africa 10%; China 7%; UK 5%; USA 2% and France 1%.  The productions range from feature films, high-end TV commercials, reality TV programmes, documentary films to television series.  The FRS has created more than 500 direct and indirect jobs, with a contribution of approximately MUR 58 million, in terms of employment of local crews and technicians working on a regular basis with producers.   The scheme has had a direct economic impact on several industry sectors. Out of the MUR 1.5 billion, approximately 10% was spent in hotel and accommodation, 9% in air travel, 6% in film production equipment and 5% in local transport and ground Logistics.

The film industry holds some great promises for the film and media sector, and constitute a potentially new driver to stimulate investment, job creation and growth. Mr. Ken Poonoosamy also announced that BOI has been contacted for the partial shooting of a “James Bond” film in Mauritius and the best efforts are being deployed to turn this plan into reality.