Tampere takes the AV business seriously

Tampere, Finland is going to be a prominent European centre for audiovisual productions, known for its high quality, expertise and cost-efficiency. In the years to come, companies big and small will choose Tampere to make films, serial dramas, television shows and large-scale entertainment productions.

Does this sound a bit too ambitious for a northern city with a population nearing a quarter of a million? Let me tell you why we think our goal is set just right.

First, Tampere has a long history of TV production and thus facilities and know-how built over the decades. Now, the AV industry and its business models are changing. Domestic demand for cost-efficient content is higher than ever in Finland and the international market is opening up: there are strong new distributors (Netflix, Amazon…) with new kinds of channels. One thing is for sure: all this means more and more content is needed, both locally and internationally.

What we see here is an opportunity to put the AV production competence of the Tampere region into good use, and create new business opportunities and jobs at the same time.

Secondly, take a moment to think what we have to offer here in Tampere. We have an excellent AV infrastructure with studios and services matching world-class needs. There is the Mediapolis campus, which is a unique centre and network for content production and digital industries. We’ve got highly skilled and experienced professionals for all areas of production, and the talents of tomorrow are already growing within our high-class AV education system.

And let’s not forget the wide selection of locations we have in our region. You can very easily go from rural to urban, from a lakeside to the city centre, from old red-brick factories to modern high-tech industry. Just to mention a few examples…

The cherry on the cake is the production incentive system recently launched by the City of Tampere. A production may be eligible for a rebate equal to 10–15 per cent of the costs (wages, services) incurred in the Tampere region, and we have established Film Tampere to govern the incentive and work for the greater good of the AV industry in the area.

As you can see, we are taking the AV business seriously!

Column published in Good News from Finland