Paris

Source: Pixabay

Paris

Paris enjoyed record levels of production in 2022, with 102 features and 68 series filmed in the city throughout the year.

The French capital saw 7,500 shooting days, up from 2021’s then-record 7,000 shooting days. In 2019, before the pandemic, Paris registered 5,000 days of shooting.

Feature film production dipped slightly from 110 films in 2021, but series were up from 64 the previous year.

Among the major international titles filming in Paris were Woody Allen’s Coup De Chance, rumoured to be the prolific director’s 50th and last film. Shot almost entirely in French, the film stars Niels Schneider, Melvil Poupaud and Valérie Lemercier.

Jeremy Garelick’s Murder Mystery 2, set to launch on Netflix in March, also filmed for several months throughout the city and at the Studios de Paris. The sequel, starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, is rumoured to be the most expensive film shot using France’s TRIP tax credit.

Chad Stahelski’s John Wick Chapter 4 also shot throughout the city including at the Louvre museum and at the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Elysées.

Also among the 102 feature films shot in the capital are several titles getting festival buzz including Bertrand Bonello’s The Beast, Maiwenn’s Jeanne Du Barry, Martin Provost’s Bonnard, Pierre And Marthe and Frederic Tellier’s L’Abbé Pierre.

François Ozon’s The Crime is Mine, which is released on March 8, and current French box office hit Philippe Lacheau’s Alibi.com 2 were also shot in Paris as were Christophe Barratier’s Comme Par Magie, Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache’s A Difficult Year and Mélanie Laurent’s La Grande Odalisque.

Series boom

Series production also boomed last year. The city of Paris said that not only are the number of series shooting in the capital rising, but the length of their shoots is also increasing.

Apple TV+ period dramas including Bits enjamin Franklin biopic starring Michael Douglas and The New Look, about the life of Christian Dior, shot in Paris for over six months.

Netflix’s Emily in Paris shot season three for several months, wrapping in September last year, then powering through post-production before its release in December.

Among high-profile local titles are recurring series including Canal+ cop drama Paris Police 1905, Gaumont’s popular Lupin for Netflix and Danièle and Christopher Thompson’s event series Bardot about the iconic French actress.

Several high-profile projects are already currently shooting in the capital including Netflix’s Money Heist prequel Berlin; Walking Dead spinoff Raise the Dead; and Disney+’s French-language romantic comedy Irrésistible.

Managing director of the Film Paris Region Rémi Bergues told Screen that “audiovisual production is nearly doubling every year” encompassing both feature films for platforms and series and that the city and its region have upped their game to accommodate the growing demand.

Adapting to demand

As part of a citywide response to climate change, Paris has set up an ecological transition plan for film shoots after consulting with several professional and regional organisations and state film body the CNC.

Initiatives include reducing the number of trucks and vehicles for crews and new measures to regulate the use of generators to reduce their noise and environmental impact.

As demand increases and the region also prepares for the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games, the city and its region are adapting by boosting set space elsewhere. For example, TSF Studios is currently building a “TSF Backlot” in Coulommiers at a former aerodrome that will include more than 700 metres of Parisian streets and should be ready for shooting by September.

The current figures from the City of Paris represent only projects shot within the city’s 20 arrondissements, but productions are increasingly opting to shoot just outside in nearby suburbs. The Film Paris Region has identified around a dozen spots on the edge of the city “that give the impression of Paris without being in Paris,” Bergues said.

Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of Culture Carine Rolland said that “Paris is more than ever the city of the 7th art.” She added: “This ‘desire’ for Paris is also due to the quality of the human and technical expertise available here and to our ability to meet the needs of long shoots, particularly for series, for which demand is exploding.”

 

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