Late Friday, October 6, Einar Hansen Tomasson, head of the Icelandic film commission, returns from his major annual trip. For five days, he coached a small group of executive producers, all from the biggest Hollywood studios. This chief lobbyist, tireless sales representative, introduced them to the most breathtaking landscapes of Iceland to encourage them to come and film more and more on the island.
Everything was there to dazzle this little troop from Los Angeles, the glaciers, the black sand beaches, the waterfalls, the Thrihnukagigur volcano, the lava fields, the geysers, the fjords, the cobalt blue lagoons, the mountains snow-capped, the Skogafoss waterfall… “It’s one thing to see landscapes in photos, but on a full scale, it’s extraordinary! “, he said with unwavering enthusiasm. Certain of having achieved the desired effect.
Directors from major studios have been filming in Iceland for a long time. Christopher Nolan played the pioneers on the Svinafellsjökull glacier for Batman Begins, in 2005, before planting his camera in front of a lava field in Orrustuholl to Interstellar (2014).
A string of other blockbusters followed: Prometheus, by Ridley Scott (2012), the first scene of which opens in front of the Dettifoss waterfalls, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, by Ben Stiller (2013) − where Iceland pretends to be Greenland or Afghanistan −, but also Rogue One. A Star Wars Story, by Gareth Edwards (2016), Blade Runner 2049 (2017) and Dune (2021), by Denis Villeneuve, or even the last James Bond, No Time to Die (2021). Not counting series like True Detective Or Game Of Throneswhose filming locations are transformed into flagship destinations for tour operators.
A very offensive policy
The Hollywood tropism for Iceland can certainly be explained by the splendor of its panoramas. But not only. This country, five times smaller than France, has implemented a very offensive tax incentive policy in favor of cinema and audiovisual. As soon as a film, series or documentary is shot on Icelandic soil, 25% of the production costs incurred are reimbursed to the producers. And, since May 2022, this rate has been increased to 35% provided that three criteria are respected: a minimum budget of 2.4 million euros, thirty days of presence of the team in the country and the use of fifty professionals local. Suffice to say that Universal, Warner, HBO, Netflix, Apple TV and Sony Pictures are taking full advantage of it. And some Indian, English, Norwegian, German, Chinese and Russian producers also claim to do so.
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