Mauritius woos show business

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Mauritius woos show business

5:22 CAT | 05 Oct 2016

Reuters / A Hindu temple on a beach in Mauritius caters to the island’s large Indian community, which has helped attract Bollywood directors to shoot scenes in the country.

In an opening scene of the Bollywood classic Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, actor Shah Rukh Khan strolls along a pristine waterfront that is meant to be Mumbai.

The scene was filmed in Mauritius in 1997 and the popularity of the film helped prompt a wave of Bollywood producers to take advantage of the island’s scenery and population, the majority of whom are of Indian descent.

While the Mauritian government says fewer Bollywood films have been produced on the island in recent years, it is hoping to reverse that trend.

In 2013, it introduced a rebate scheme to attract foreign film companies and in this year’s budget, the government announced plans to expand the scheme.

One of the island’s largest sugar companies, Omnicane, is hoping to capitalise. As part of a development near the main airport that will include a hotel, offices, schools, a beach club and residences — the company plans to transform an old sugar factory into a film studio.

Omnicane has hired architects and engineers to complete plans for the new studio, though construction has not yet begun. It has attracted interest from Pinewood, the British studio where many James Bond films were made, and a South African film school that may open a branch.

“The film rebate scheme is a great thing, but it’s not enough,” says Jacques D’Unienville, the CEO of Omnicane. “We want to put the right structures in place for the film industry to develop.

“There are a few things that are valuable here: a good banking industry, safety, good locations and good incentives. With the right infrastructure, it should be able to attract a fair amount of business.”

The hopes for film are in many ways the result of changes in the country’s sugar industry, on which Mauritius was once almost wholly dependent. Since the EU reduced the price of sugar imported from Mauritius 10 years ago, the industry has been forced to consolidate and rethink its strategy.

Companies responded by using sugar cane to produce more ethanol and rum, and by diversifying into other industries to reduce their reliance on the crop. Some of the largest companies own large plots of land that were previously used for growing sugar cane.

Pravind Jugnauth, the country’s finance minister, highlighted Omnicane’s film venture in his recent budget and said it was a promising emerging industry.

Under the new proposals, film makers would get a refund on their expenditure of up to 40% (previously 30%), production of films for export would be exempt from value-added tax and imported lighting equipment would face no liability for customs duty.

The government will give 10-million rupees ($200,000) to the Mauritius Film Development Corporation to buy equipment.

While the government does not expect its tax revenues to be increased by the scheme, policy makers hope it will bring much-needed investment, boost the hotel industry and help market Mauritius by showing scenes of the island in movies, says Deputy Prime Minister Xavier-Luc Duval.

The film studios “will cost a bomb”, but will provide jobs for people in Mauritius, says Duval, who introduced the rebate scheme in 2013 when he was finance minister.

Pinewood, which has benefited from similar schemes in Malaysia and the Dominican Republic, has not committed to the project yet. The company confirmed that its executives had visited Mauritius and that the film scheme was attractive, but said negotiations were in the early stages.

Jon Rabaud, a Mauritian film director, says one of the difficulties in attracting directors to shoot movies on the island is the lack of local skills.

“Look at Mad Max — that was filmed in Namibia,” he says.

“They brought over the actors, directors and heads of department, but the crew was all based there. If they come to Mauritius, they will expect to have crew.”

Source: Business Day Live