On 16 May, during the Cannes Marché du Film panel sessions, the British Film Commission and Film France-CNC hosted “Crossing Channels: Production and VFX in the UK and France”, a discussion on UK-French industry relations, moderated by Adrian Wootton OBE, CEO of the British Film Commission.

Neil Hatton MBE, chief executive of the UK Screen Alliance, opened the discussion by describing how the UK tax credit for visual effects has been implemented and has been claimable since 1 January 2025. “We have increased the rate: it’s now 29.25% net. But we have also given it an exemption from the 80% cap, and that’s crucial. I think that makes the biggest difference because very often, people are shooting in the UK and then they move on to work on VFX elsewhere, or vice versa. It used to be very rare for both to be done [in the UK], but that’s happening more and more now, thanks to this cap exemption.” He later mentioned how his team is predicting a 45% increase on the 2019 data from the BFI’s Screen Business report, which corresponds to £370 million a year for tax relief-supported visual effects in the UK. He also introduced the “limited-budget film tax credit”, thanks to which visual effects and post-production are both eligible expenses within a 39.75% net rate. It can be used if the budget is lower than £15 million, even when shooting outside of the UK, although some restrictions apply. One of these is being an official co-production, as the chief executive noted: “I hear there has been more interest in co-production in the last six months than there’s been in the previous several years.”

Daphne Lora, head of Film France-CNC, explained that the 30% French tax rebate was implemented in 2020 for VFX: “If you spend over €2 million on VFX in France, you get a 40% tax rebate, which applies to all eligible expenditure, including shooting-related costs.” She also clarified that the requisite cultural test differs between live-action shooting and VFX, with the latter being easier to pass, making France a more accessible option for VFX projects. “I think what’s happening between the two countries is very interesting: we know each other very well, and we’re just a train ride away,” Lora stated.

Laurens Ehrmann, founder and senior VFX supervisor at The Yard, described his company as 100% independent and mentioned that it’s based in Paris and Montpellier, with a new presence in London. He described that, over the years, a lot of French VFX talents have left France, attracted to big blockbusters abroad, and his company’s aim is to keep them in France or bring some back to the nation after they’ve worked in other countries. Ehrmann also talked about the high volume of work requested on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, for which post-production took more than 18 months, and involved between 30 and 40 artists. The series is a perfect example of collaboration between the two countries, considering its second season was shot in the UK but was worked on in France.

Michael Illingworth, founder and creative director at Vine FX, was asked to talk about The Amateur, directed by James Hawes and starring Rami Malek, who also produced the movie. The film was shot in London and the UK in general, with some footage filmed in France and Turkey while Vine FX worked on the VFX. He also mentioned the work on the miniseries Paris Has Fallen, which represented another efficient collaboration between the two countries.

Finally, the fact that the latter company is based in Cambridge was a starting point for Hatton to highlight the recurrent trend of moving away from big hubs like London or Paris in order to work in less central cities or regions, which was seen as a positive shift by the participants.