Greece risks losing its status as a prime destination for international film productions, as dozens of local and foreign projects remain unpaid, awaiting overdue rebates, according to a report in Variety.
A year after the Greek government launched Creative Greece (EKKOMED) to reform its screen industry, the system remains in turmoil. Variety sources report a payment backlog exceeding €100 million ($112 million), with dozens of local and international productions still waiting for rebates.
This growing uncertainty is making foreign producers hesitant about filming in the country, the report says.
Production companies like Faliro House and Heretic, both involved in major international films, have voiced serious concerns. “Foreign producers are becoming skeptical,” says Kostas Kefalas of Faliro House, which serviced The Odyssey in Greece.
Heretic’s Giorgos Karnavas adds that the country is squandering the goodwill it has built over the years, warning, “What takes a long time to build can easily go away.”
“What it takes a lot of time to build can easily go away, and we are now facing the consequences of a poorly managed transition by the administration and the ministries,” he told Variety.
The frustration has come to a head. The producers of Pablo Larraín’s Maria, which stars Angelina Jolie as opera legend Maria Callas, recently sent a formal complaint to the Greek Ministry of Finance and EKKOMED over €350,000 ($392,000) in unpaid rebates. Among the four countries involved in the film’s production, Greece is the only one that hasn’t fulfilled its rebate obligations.
Speaking to Variety during the Cannes Film Festival, Creative Greece CEO Leonidas Christopoulos acknowledged the bureaucratic issues and admitted rebate payouts have been “less than we expected.”
However, he expressed optimism that payments would resume by early June and most of the backlog would be cleared by year’s end. Christopoulos called the current struggles a “transition phase” and assured that a more stable funding landscape is on the horizon.
Despite delays, Greece’s 40 percent cash rebate has attracted numerous high-profile projects since its 2018 launch, including Amazon’s House of David and Uberto Pasolini’s The Return.
In a bid to catch up, the government paused the incentive program last year and passed a law allowing producers to retroactively claim expenses from late 2024 and early 2025. This move helped major productions like The Odyssey and Romain Gavras’ Sacrifice (starring Chris Evans and Anya Taylor-Joy) recoup costs.
Despite their frustrations, local producers remain cautiously hopeful. “We need to take care of the hiccups,” Kefalas told Variety. “Because people do want to shoot in Greece.”
