‘Greek Hollywood’ Looks to Cash in on Cachet as Production on the Mediterranean Surges
variety.comChristopher Vourlias There were sunny skies over the Thessaloniki Film Festival this week, with unseasonably high temperatures leading many visitors to reach for the sunscreen while dashing between movie premieres and industry events at Greece’s longest-running film fest.
The local industry, too, is enjoying a moment in the sun, as the Mediterranean nation has seen production surge post-pandemic, buoyed by foreign titles like Rian Johnson’s Netflix blockbuster “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” action thriller “Tin Soldier,” starring Jamie Foxx and Robert De Niro, and the Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone starring “Expend4bles,” the latest installment of the action franchise, which filmed in Thessaloniki.
Last year, production in Greece reached record heights, with 132 projects supported by the country’s cashback scheme, which covers up to 40% of qualifying expenditures and can be combined with a separate 30% tax relief scheme.
This year, Pablo Larrain’s Maria Callas biopic “Maria,” starring Angelina Jolie, and Amazon Studios’ “Killer Heat,” starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley and Richard Madden, are among the productions bringing some star power to the country.
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