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Charting a course from the Croisette to the Oscar stage, recent standouts like “The Substance,” “Flow” and “Emilia Pérez” turned 2024 into a banner year for movies made in France. While the Latvian co-production tapped into Gaul’s animation ecosystem, the English- and Spanish-language fantasias showcased the strength of the local production infrastructure — conjuring far-flung settings from soundstages just outside Paris.
“Cinema is the art of illusion,” “The Substance” director Coralie Fargeat says. “There’s a thrill in filming scenes where they’re not ‘supposed’ to happen—that’s part of the creative game. Stepping outside traditional frameworks opens up endless possibilities to rethink and reinvent the way we make films.”
While Jacques Audiard’s musical “Emilia Pérez” represented France in the international film Oscar race, “The Substance” became a different kind of standard‑bearer, spotlighting the many advantages that international productions can extract from France’s production and VFX pipeline.
“’The Substance’ shattered preconceptions,” says Pauline Augrain, director of digital at France’s National Film Board (CNC). “What would have cost roughly $65 million in the U.S. was shot here for one-third of that budget, proving our crews can blend practical effects, cutting‑edge VFX, and bold direction — all while recasting France as an innovative, cost‑efficient hub for independent filmmaking.”
Still, 2024 proved a mixed bag, as awards buzz and Olympic visibility raised France’s profile, all while strike aftershocks, streamer belt‑tightening, and Olympic logistics curtailed inbound shoots. Just 55 productions claimed the Tax Rebate for International Productions (TRIP)—on par with pre‑pandemic figures but well below the 2022 peak.
Even so, total spend in France held near $3.4 billion for a second straight year, with about $540 million coming from foreign‑led projects — now a sturdy baseline as updated rules increasingly let streamer titles count as local productions.
Meanwhile, thanks to the France 2030 modernization plan, projects from around the world can tap upgraded infrastructure. AMC’s “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” and the Cannes‑bound feature “The Great Arch” both filmed on the vast TSF Backlot 77 even before the complex officially opened last October, while the studio’s signature Paris streetscape stood front-and-center in the Olympic opening ceremony, hosting a Jacques Tati‑style chase led by Zinedine Zidane and seen by an estimated 1 billion viewers.
Central to the modernization plan is the ambition to lure international productions — and keep them. The strategy paid off with Prime Video’s recent series “Étoile,” which showrunners Amy Sherman‑Palladino and Daniel Palladino had initially planned to film in both Paris and New York, mirroring the story’s two‑city setting. Only once on the ground, the producers opted to stay put, building a Manhattan‑style hospital inside the same studio complex that had previously played Tinseltown‑sur‑Seine for Fargeat.
“These productions aren’t just looking for postcard Paris,” Augrain says. “They recognize a full offer that includes quality of service, know-how, and equipment — really, everything to meet their needs beyond our heritage and the natural, scenic appeal of our locations.”
Mind you, France’s scenic landscapes can do double duty, as seen in recent thrillers like 20th Century Studios’ “The Amateur” and Apple TV+’s “Prime Target.” Both globe‑trotters shrank their carbon footprints by filming France‑for‑France before using nearby spots to double for Istanbul and Baghdad.
By sheer scope, though, Amazon’s upcoming feature “Heads of State” reigns supreme. Heeding veteran line producer John Bernard, the team ditched plans for dual hubs in Italy and England and moved the entire production to the South of France. From a central base in Nice, Bernard’s crew found stand‑ins for Spain, Italy, Serbia, Croatia, the U.K., the U.S. and Poland—leaning on the virtual backdrops and smart sets of the nearby Studios de la Victorine when needed.
“It all comes down to clever production design and thinking a little bit out of the box,” Bernard says. “At this point, people across the global industry know exactly what France can do.”
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