Wheelhouse’s Production Services brings a bilingual and bicultural expertise to international productions. The company is run by an Australian, who has worked in French cinema and television for the past 25 years.
France’s most experienced international financial controller, Emmanuelle Balestrieri, recently became a partner in the company. Together with Matthew Gledhill, producer and former 1st AD, the team provide financial rigour and deliver the highest quality.
Wheelhouse can provide a board and budgets, oversee demanding shoots and is well versed in the VFX-only and animation tax credit. The company ensures international standards and precise cost reports – all at competitive price point.
Wheelhouse recently supervised Mothers’ Instinct, with Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway, for the VFX-only French international Tax credit. As former senior vice president of international production at Studiocanal, Matthew has extensive experience with the studios. Emmanuelle has worked with NBC Universal, Paramount, Warner Bros, Walt Disney, 20th Century, Lionsgate, Legendary, ITV America, CBS, Apple TV, Netflix & Amazon
France has become particularly competitive in the area of international production services, thanks to a generous and efficient tax rebate overseen by the French National Centre of Cinema.
To benefit from the TRIP or international tax credit designed for films shooting in France, the film or TV series must:
- Shoot at least five days in France.
- Have a servicing producer whose company pays tax in France to lodge the application.
- That producer must obtain the cultural certificate (cultural test) from the CNC. (test rules embedded). Wheelhouse can help navigate the subtleties of the points system
- Spend at least €250K in eligible expenditures (live-action shoots, as well as post-production expenditures and all VFX-related spend in France are eligible)
Wheelhouse is also particularly competitive in the VFX-only tax credit delivery.
VFX-only projects with NO filming in France are still eligible for the TRIP (French international tax credit) if they respect a few key conditions.
To qualify, your project must:
- Be a live-action project (feature, short film, tv show – single or episodic, VR), with at least 15% of the shots, or on average one and a half shots per minute, being digitally processed.
- Spend at least €250K in eligible expenditures (live-action shoots, as well as post-production expenditures and all VFX-related spend in France are eligible)
- Pass a cultural test significantly more flexible that the tax credit applied to shooting in France.
The French government refunds 40% of VFX expenses if the spend is over €2M.
The baseline refund for lower spend is 30% of the eligible pre-tax expenditures.
Money is recouped in the year following the spend!
The tax credit must legally be requested by a French production company. Bilingual, we can answer all questions in a context of international standards and optimize your T.R.I.P. We also have extensive experience matching administrative demands for Studio majors and streamers.
We have established a strong relationship with the French vendors, from cameras to sound stages and have a roster of English-speaking technicians.
France now boasts some of the best VFX houses in the world.
The following link to the C2I-TRIP guide provides all the details.
Feel free to contact us for a preliminary budget or any other questions concerning working in France.
The Team
Emmanuelle Balestrieri
With over 25 years of production experience, Emmanuelle is France’s most accomplished financial controller and key production accountant currently working in international production. She has run accounts and tax credit applications for feature films including Dunkirk, Ford vs Ferrari, The Last Duel and Hunger Games. Emmanuelle has collaborated with all of the U.S. majors as well as streaming platforms; most recently piloting the administration and budget on Apple TV’s eight-part mini-series Franklin.
Emmanuelle has expertise in budgeting, financial analysis, cash flow management and production accounting for feature film, tv series, animation and VFX-only projects, providing a bridge between French and U.S. financial requirements.
Matthew Gledhill
Matthew has worked as an executive producer and 1st AD and in all corners of Europe, North America, Australia and Africa and the Middle East. Based in Paris, bilingual and bicultural, Matthew has a wealth of experience in film and Television production, adapting to local conditions to meet international production expectations.Matthew’s company Wheelhouse has successfully delivered the French tax credit to investors. The production strategy is keep the production overheads light, but of the highest quality, to deliver the rebate in the most efficient and effective way possible.