Firefly Studios

Firefly Sound Stages are located in a peaceful town of Pancevo, 19km east of central Belgrade.

SOUNDSTAGES

SOUND STAGE 1 and SOUND STAGE 2 –  each 2000 m² (21258 ft²), height 15m (49 ft)

SOUND STAGE 3 – 760 m² (8180 ft²) , height 12m (39 ft)

Watertank in Sound Stage 2, 4 hectares of backlot, production offices, workshop, catering area.

WATERTANK

Firefly Sound Stage 2 features a watertank 15 x 10 meter (150m²)  and 3,5 meter deep; 49  x 33 ft, (1614ft² ) and 11 ft deep. Heatable, coverable, with 2 underwater side windows. The tank is equipped with a built-in circulated filtration system.

BACKLOT

Designed by Miljen Kreka Kljakovic, the WW II era backlot set,  depicts a historical small town of Nis in Serbia. Covering a surface of  2 hectares with buildings reaching up to 12m in height, the set contains a wide variation of differently styled buildings, stores, gates, courtyards, interiors, town market and a square. Accompanying these structures, there are different kind of roads that reach a length of over 280m. Many of the building in the backlot have interior dressing.

The set itself is adaptable to future design changes.

The whole complex is set upon 6 ha, and 2 ha  backlot is still available for new sets.

At the back of the built backlot there is  a retention tank. 40 x 20 meters, 4 meters deep ; 131 x 66 ft, 13 ft deep.

LOCATIONS IN SERBIA

Serbia Is Renowned For Its Versatile Landscapes.

It boasts many locations which prove that the old and the new, the urban and the natural, as well as the familiar and the exotic. Serbian cities can seamlessly embody many iconic European locales – Milan, Moscow, Berlin, Paris, and many more. Firefly Productions has a huge Serbian locations database with the set of information. Firefly Productions is a member of Film in Serbia – Serbia Film Commission

SUPPORT FACILITIES

Along with each studio lies a two-story support building with direct access to the sound stages.

The lower level of each Stage contains standard dressing rooms, make-up and hair dressing facilities, props and costume storage rooms.

The upper level of each Stage production and staff offices, conference and board rooms and rest areas.

Firefly complex offers furnished, high-quality production facilities on more than 3500 m² / 37674 ft².

24/7 security service, IT, telecommunications and broadband internet services are provided to cater for the highest level of productivity.

The Firefly complex has one large, 1800 m² / 19375 ft² workshop.

SERVICES

We provide professional production services supporting both international and local producers with a complete set of services for film as well as television projects, advertising commercials etc.

With our wide range of partners and our inhouse staff we will find the perfect solution for your shooting plans, providing exceptional services at all stages of production.
Our partners are the best suppliers in the region, no matter the phase in which your project is, we will come up with the best solution customized to meet your specific needs.

Firefly Studios offers following production services: production management, preparation of production budgets and schedules, location scouting and aqcuiring permits, world class quality set construction services and we have builders of set constructions, cabinetmakers, carpenters, scaffolders, locksmiths, blacksmiths, plasterers and stuccoers, masons, upholsters, graphic artists, painters, calligraphers, patina artists.

Green screen and props rental, industry standard equipment rental (camera, lights, cranes), professional, english speaking crews, production and payroll accounting – VAT reimbursement, government and institutional relations, taxation and legal advice, work permits, insurance.

FILMING IN SERBIA

The Serbian Tax Incentive Scheme

The Ministry of Culture of the Government of Serbia has adopted a Regulation for film and TV incentives on January 14, 2023 to support creativity in the field of audiovisual production, encourage cultural and economic activities and increase employment related to audiovisual production in the Republic of Serbia, as well as the promotion of Serbia’s potential in this field its infrastructure, production and service related activities.

The applications should be submitted to the Film Center Serbia.

Relevant documents with details of the program, what is and is not considered qualified Serbian spend and the procedure are attached below. These include the Regulation on the Incentive Program, the Rulebook (Guidelines) and the Public Call for Applications.

In case you need any help with understanding the regulations and preparing your application, we will be happy to assist you. Please contact us at [email protected].

INCENTIVE OVERVIEW

1. INCENTIVE TYPE
Cash rebate

2. AMOUNT
25% of Qualifying Serbian Spend for features, TV Series, documentaries, animation and post-production, 20% for TV Commercials, and 30% for feature films with Serbian Spend of minimum 5.000.000 EUR

3. DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
Open all year.

4. WHO CAN APPLY
Applicants must be a legal entity registered in Serbia and responsible for paying all relevant Serbian taxes on behalf of the production.

5. MINIMUM LOCAL SPEND
Feature films, TV films and TV series: 300.000 EUR (~$331.000), with 150.000 EUR minimum per episode for TV series

Animated film, audio and/or visual post-production: 150.000 EUR (~$166.000)

Special-purpose film/TV Commercials: 150.000 EUR (~$166.000)

Documentary films: 50.000 EUR (~$55.000)

6. FORMATS
-Feature film, TV film, feature-length documentary film and animated film intended for broadcasting, that last at least 70 minutes
-TV series containing at least three episodes not shorter than 40 minutes;
-Documentary programmes not shorter that 40 minutes
-TV Commercials
-Post-production or VFX for any of the abovementioned formats

7. QUALIFYING SERBIAN EXPENDITURE
The following are considered Qualifying Expenditure towards the incentive:

-Costs pertaining to the production of an audiovisual work that have occurred and that have been disbursed to legal or natural entities in the territory of the Republic of Serbia. These include purchased goods and provided services, use of locations, crew payments and royalties to individuals who are residents of the Republic of Serbia or to foreigners who are legally residing for at least a year in the territory of the Republic of Serbia, in accordance with the regulations of the Republic of Serbia;

-Incurred costs pertaining to the use of goods, ie. leasing of movables and immovables may be recognised only if the goods, and/or movables and immovables, are the property of legal or natural entities, in the territory of the Republic of Serbia;

-The eligible costs include gross sums where there are social benefits, insurance, authorship or other types of taxes included in the calculation of costs.

8. NON-QUALIFYING EXPENDITURE
The following costs do not qualify for the incentive:

Marketing costs, costs related to real estate purchase, distribution costs;
Types and content of Qualifying and Non-qualifying Expenditure are prescribed in more detail in the Guidelines for the incentive programme and Eligible costs specification, that can be downloaded bellow.

9. FUNDING AND CAPS
There is no cap per project. Every year the Serbian government will allocate funds for the incentive programme.  The budget allocated for 2023 is 1.930.000.000,00 dinars (EUR 16,5 million). Projects that surpass amount of annual budget allocated for this fiscal year may be transferred into the next year.

10. PROCEDURE
1st Application

The call for applications is open all year. The applicant must be a Serbian registered company acting on behalf of the investor in the project or SPV company setup for the production in Serbia. The entity applies for the incentive programme to the government organization Film Center Serbia, providing an estimated budget, a production schedule together with a completed application form and other required documents (see list below).

The application can be submitted anytime in the course of the production in question.

Decision and Contracting
The Committee will review the application documents and if approved, the Ministry of Culture will sign a contract with the applicant.

Request for Final Payment
Within 45 days from the completion of production the applicant needs to conduct an independent audit and submit a Request for Payment. The Committee will process the request confirming that audit report, production reports and financial information are valid. The rebate amount will be released within 60 days of the Committee final approval to a designated Treasury account accessible by the Applicant.

11. BUNDLE OR SLATE OF PROJECTS
Projects are not allowed to bundle, except in case of TV commercials where investor is allowed to bundle projects with an incentive pay-out cap of maximum 800.000 EUR in a period of 3 years. In another words investor in TVCs has a ceiling of 3,2 million EUR for local expenditure within 3 years.

12. VAT
Serbia has a general VAT rate of 20% on all goods and services, except hotels and other accommodation, basic food groups, utility services use reduced VAT rate of 10%.

VAT is NOT considered qualified Serbian spend.

Full information for applicants can be found on the website of Film Center Serbia, and the list of previously granted projects is published here.