Mathieu Ripka has left his job as head of the CNC’s Film France, the state film organisation’s department for attracting international productions to the country.
Ripka will return to his former career as producer. The CNC has yet to name a replacement, and is currently recruiting for the position which will be taken over in the interim by deputy head of Film France - CNC Caroline Juillard-Mourgues.
Film France used to be an autonomous agency supported by the CNC until November 2021 when it was officially integrated into a new service – called the “service de l’attractivité” or attractiveness department – within the state film organisation.
The organisation officially moved under direct control of the CNC as part of the latter’s efforts to transform France into a one-stop shop for productions, with a brief spanning tax credit eligibility information, VFX and post-production work, consulting and location scouting and local talent and crews.
Ripka, a former locations manager and producer, was appointed to head the new service, which was granted an extra €800,000 on top of Film France’s budget for the year. The service’s funding is now part of the CNC’s global budget.
“I’m leaving after a very dynamic year and I’m proud of the results, particularly the hundreds of jobs created in France in the productions attracted and the companies that have been set up in the country following the prospecting work of our entire attractiveness team,” Ripka told Screen.
He added: “I hope that I have brought a spirit of openness to the international scene at the CNC, and that this spirit will continue even after my departure.”
The CNC continues to ramp up its efforts to remain competitive and attractive for feature film, audiovisual, animation and video game production on the international stage. The attractiveness department is focused on international outreach and coordinates with the country’s multiple regional film commissions. On its agenda is a promotional campaign, an expanded physical presence in Los Angeles and more emphasis on other forms of content production.
Since 2021, Film France has supported more than 300 productions including 139 via the TRIP, France’s tax credit for foreign production that offers a 40% rebate for VFX productions and 30% for other projects. The CNC’s goals moving forward are threefold: to innovate digital production (including virtual production, VFX and animation), reduce the carbon footprint of production and expand their capacity.
Several recent large-scale productions have benefitted from the tax credit and other recent CNC-powered initiatives including Apple TV+’s Ben Franklin biopic starring Michael Douglas, Starz period drama The Serpent Queen and Netflix title Murder Mystery 2.
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