Producers considering Eastern Europe will of course be weighing up the charms of places like Prague, Bucharest, Budapest and Belgrade. However Ukraine also has a well-developed industry infrastructure and remains cost- effective.
A 25% cash rebate incentive was expected to be in place by 2017 but delays in acquiring the necessary amount of signatures from the Ukrainian Government have resulted in the programme being redrafted for submission at a later date.
More than 200 production companies, film studios, post-production and visual effects facilities make up Ukraine's film industry. It also has an expanding base of low-cost yet talented film crew and cast. Ukraine has outstanding land- scapes and Kiev is becoming an increasingly popular location and is replete with Gothic, Byzantine and Baroque architecture. Lviv is another great option as a perfectly preserved medieval city.
We weren’t expecting a good experience in Ukraine but it turned out to be really good. The local crew was great and Kiev’s a really beautiful city. I’d recommend it as a nice, atmospheric city that when combined with the lower costs has a lot of appeal.
Hein Scheffer, Producer
Ukraine’s climate is generally dry and continental, although the southern regions are more Mediterranean. Winters are long and temperatures typically fall to lows of 0C but can sometimes reach
-20C and deliver heavy snowstorms. Summers are shorter and conditions generally peak at about 30C but can sometimes climb higher.
There is normally little rain during the summer and the inland areas get less rainfall through the course of a year, with the wettest parts of the country being the north and the west. The coastal areas around the Black Sea can get severe thunderstorms.
