“Do you know who I am?” is an amazing book that will soon turn into movie. The English Cypriot author of the book Mrs Adrianne Roy is coming to Cyprus to explore all the possibilities of filming the movie here on the island…How significant that would be for the island of Cyprus and why should the Government and businessmen fund this movie?
You better read the interview below and you will realize that the best advertisement for a country to gain more tourism and promote its beauties and culture is a movie!
By Yiota Dimitriou
Adrianne Roy first of all how is your book doing? (“Do you know who I am”)
Just to bring you up to date, the book became quite a sensation not only with Greek Cypriot communities around the world including the Greek orthodox clergy and renowned Greek academics but also with a much wider range of nationalities who have identified with the immigrant story in particular the Russian, Jewish, Irish,Italian and Indian communities. Readers continue to post reviews on Amazon and other social media networks and here is the Amazon link for you to see some of the reviews http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0956724507 .
After receiving critical acclaim and rave reviews the book was commissioned by a UK film production company to make it into a motion picture for the worldwide cinema and “Do you Know Who I Am” The Movie has been 3 years in the making with an extraordinary journey to date.
In October 2013 the award winning Hollywood producer J.Todd Harris of Branded Pictures www.brandedpicturesentertainment.com signed up as executive producer in the US. Having produced over 37 movies for the big screen his most renowned productions include Bottle Shock starring Alan Rickman, The Kids Are Alright starring Julianne Moore, Annette Benning and Mark Ruffalo, and Piranha 3D from The Weinstein Company.
In October 2014 Jason Connery https://vimeo.com/65067416 signed up to be the director of the film who you will know as the son of Sir Sean Connery or the actor who played Robin Hood in the UK TV series “Robin of Sherwood” which launched him to stardom in the 1980s. But as an established director in his own right, his feature directing debut “Pandemic” sold successfully worldwide and lead to a series of films, including the Sony released “The Devil’s Tomb” , starring Cuba Gooding Jr and Ray Winstone.
Added to the fact that the film’s creative producer, Chantelle de Carvalho has over 25 years’ experience in the film business with her most recent feature, the British comedy/Horror, “The Hatching” is soon to premiere in the US with Lionsgate, this level of talent has never been achieved by any Cypriot film maker before and I am very proud of this fact.
You are coming to Cyprus to explore all the possibilities of filming the movie here on the island….Tell us more details about this, the funding and have you found the actors that will play in it?
The development of the film so far has been funded by a UK Cypriot investor who is a big fan of the book and, like me, of course wants the film shot in Cyprus. This is a very exciting prospect for the people of Cyprus in so many ways in particular that it will put the island on the world map in a non-political way for a change. This is a massive opportunity for worldwide publicity spread throughout all the seven continents which will ,not only, raise awareness for the Cyprus cause but will ultimately bring new business and tourism to the island.
The film’s development process is complete and is now ready to proceed to the next level of the production stage. We are currently in the process of casting famous lead roles securing a top sales agent and a worldwide distributor.
The aim is to shoot the film in the UK and in Cyprus this November 2016 with a budget £3.7m which in film terms is a low budget movie. We have already been pledged £2.2m from UK film funders (includes the UK tax credit) but this funding is conditional upon us raising the remaining £1.5 mil by May to give us any chance of shooting the film this autumn in Cyprus. The immediate priority is to try and keep the film funded by investors in Cyprus who share the same passion for the story and the Island to ensure that the film gets shot in Cyprus instead of Malta or Bulgaria which is something that the producers are looking into. This is the primary purpose of my visit to Cyprus, to canvass what endorsement, sponsorship or interest there may from any potential Cypriot sponsors/funders/investors individually or in collaboration and arrange meetings to discuss the venture in more detail face to face.
You mentioned Malta and Bulgaria and we know that many movies are taking place there . Why is that?
These two countries have regional film funds available to us if we shoot the film in their country. These are not the only places that have film incentives. Rumania, Ireland, Wales, Hungary also have film funds in place to promote their countries. These small countries have low costs with diverse locations, mountains, coastal, historic within short distances and safe environments. Cyprus has all these things in abundance yet it does not have such film incentives in place.
Bulgaria has hosted The Hitman, The expendables 3, 300 and Ninja to name a few and Malta’s biggest hit was “Popeye The Movie” in 1980 and the Popeye Village set still remains as one of the major tourist attractions in Malta . Wales and Hungary offer incentives up to 25% of the films budget to entice producers to shoot in their countries. In Iceland special legislation was passed so that producers can apply to the treasury for 20% of the film budget to shoot in their country as does Germany and the Czech Republic. Ontario is successfully taking productions away from Hollywood with its 35%-40% rebate. Scotland has also jumped on the band-waggon by setting up a new 1.7m production growth fund. Ireland’s government are increasing their tax rebate from 28% to 32% and has carved out its own niche by housing high-end TV such as “The Tudors” and “Vikings” and the incentives have helped to build up the economy in the face of the economic recession. The “Game of Thrones” is now on its 6th series bringing in continuous revenue to Northern Island with the Northern Irish economy reportedly seeing a boost thanks to Game of Thrones fans wanting to visit the real-life places where the show is filmed.
Many more nations are welcoming the business of film as they enter the competition. Surely this must tell us something…. that Films are big business otherwise these countries would not be competing to attract the publicity of the movies to their shores. Cyprus does not have such film incentives in place and it is an opportunity that is staring it in the face. It would be a disaster for our island and a fantastic opportunity missed if the film does not get shot in Cyprus with all its scenic glory.
If the movie takes place here in Cyprus in which way will this help the island?
There are so many ways that it can help Cyprus. Where do I start?
1. Firstly the mere fact of having the likes of Jason Connery and other high profile actors in Cyprus is very exciting and will raise the profile of the Island throughout all continents.
2. Having the film shot in a Cyprus it will create jobs. Actors, crew and extras get jobs but the effect is much wider. There’s work for costume designers, make-up artists, hairdressers, engineers, builders, electricians, caterers, painters, tailors, guides, taxi drivers even donkey handlers – a wide range of behind the scene occupations benefit directly.
3. The hospitality industry and local businesses will in-turn benefit in that all those people need to be housed and fed during the filming. Restaurants, cafés and hotels can guarantee being booked out for the duration of the filming. Cast and crew will spend money in local shops and businesses, and famous actors can promote local businesses simply by being in a particular venue with opportunities for photo shoots and international press coverage.
4. The film will promote Cyprus products, establishments and Cypriot cuisine within its scenes and through product placements. Products unique to Cyprus such as Haloumi, beer, Zivania, meze, Olive oil etc can be featured, advertised and promoted worldwide.
5. Cypriot tradition music will play a significant role in the film with opportunities for musicians, composers and music supervisors to select music and instruments of the period and put together bands and musicians to play on and off screen.
6. But it is once the film is released that the benefits really begin. The unique beauty of the island takes a starring role where the overseas viewers want to see that Cypriot landscape for themselves and rises in popularity as a holiday destination.
All of this brings revenue which is an enormous benefit to the economy and the country as a whole. It’s money that would have been spent and earned in other countries and who can’t be seduced by the creation of jobs with a touch of Hollywood glamour.
In light of the long suffering political talks , the recent bank cuts and the economic recession that has hit our country, the film’s activity will bring some good news for a change and lift the morale of the people.
5. Did you contact the Government of Cyprus? What are the results so far? Why should the Government fund this movie?
Who is better to fund this movie than the Cypriot Government? The film is for Cyprus and the Cyprus people. It is an advertisement for the world to see Cyprus in all its glory. A story about Cypriot immigrants which takes place in Cyprus, that is written by a second generation Cypriot and is financed by private Cypriot investors and ends up in MALTA! It would be embarrassing to say the least and far too good an opportunity to pass us by.
The Cyprus co-producers wrote to the Ministry of education and Culture in October requesting whether they can offer competitive tax incentives/rebate program by May to enable us to shoot the film by the end of this year in Cyprus. In view of the time restraints it is unreasonable of us to expect the government to pass new legislation or tax incentives in such a short period of time but hopefully some pro-active politician will put it on the manifesto for the future. But time here is of the essence and in such special circumstances it is not unreasonable to request a one-off discretionary fund (equivalent to around 25% of the film budget which other countries are offering ) equating to an amount of anything upto £920,000k considering the endless possibilities that Cyprus could get back in return.
We have not heard anything from the Ministry of Education and Culture other than that the letter has been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance.
I have done the hard work to bring a high profile Hollywood production to the door and I now implore the government to step up and help take this project over the finishing line.
Why should a business man fund it?
The Film industry is a multi- billion pound industry and you only need to look at the high profit margins, the speed and return on investments and the wealth created over the decades to see that it works. We are living, after all, in a world of entertainment and media. More so than ever before where performance ceilings are smashing through the roof so now is the time to get into it.
For example My Big Fat Greek Wedding became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time and grossed $241.4 million at the box office testament, I believe, to the population of Greeks around the world.
But boasting similarities or comparables and projecting profits based simply on a box office hit is not good enough for me. It is hardly an indicator that just because a comparable film did well that our film will do well too, as there is no way of telling what the prevailing market conditions will be when it comes to release time. The film business is a high risk venture but with very high rewards only if produced well. So as an investor myself, I have taken a more robust approach with this project and focussed on minimizing any risks. So rather than predictions, forecasts and speculations the producers have built a viable investment case around facts, history and the unique selling points that this film has:
History and facts tells us that the film business has an impressive history of stability and even at the height of financial crisis and recession demand for film and profit remains high. This history of non-correlation makes film an ideal alternative asset to hold against seesawing fortunes from other sectors such as real estate, industrial commodities, precious metals, fixed income, equities, international currencies, fine wine and art. For investors looking to balance their portfolio with an asset class that does not correlate with market economy, films have an obvious appeal.
With the calibre of our director Jason Connery already attached and the level of talent on our production team we are able to attract bankable cast and a top sales agent to provide sales estimates based on commercially tested actors. Coupled with the fact that Jason, the cast and the book already have worldwide followings it optimises the potential for those all- important box office turnouts. The success of a film hinges on distribution and this film package already ticks all the boxes. This is the secret to a successful film investment.
The other unique selling point is that the film is custom designed for a particular niche audience…in our case the immigrant all over the world who historically left their countries/islands on boats destined for far- away lands in search for a better life. This is a story that millions will relate to, young and old and which is currently topical too.
Due to the very nature of our story line the producers intend to take full advantage of various regional production incentives (“tax credits” and “soft money”) so the producers will have a sizeable portion of their production budget already offset before the film even being seen by an audience.
With all this said I like to keep things simple and quite simply, do the maths. This movie is not a £50 mil project where you need to get millions of bums on seats to even break even. It is a £3.5mil project and if the average U.K. film ticket today costs £10 you will only require 350 thousand people to go and watch the movie throughout the world. With the following that the book and the talent already have, more than that will be achieved in UK alone before we even start to look at all of Europe, Australia, Asia and the biggest market of all, the USA. And that doesn’t even include the subsequent revenue from a combination of pay-per-view TV, cable and satellite channels, Netflix ,video rentals on demand, DVD sales, airlines, online subscriptions and digital downloads.
Just to put it into perspective, revenue from films not only made a record $31.6 billion at the global box office in the last 2 years but they also grossed another $53 billion out of the box office. In the UK alone the box office broke the £1 billion ($1.4 billion) barrier for the first time as cinema admissions returned to their second highest level since 1971. So much for austerity. And without going into detail, in a nutshell, all the investors will share 50% (in accordance with their contribution) of the gross profit of the film in all world territories including theatrical box office and TV rights. It is widely anticipated that the film will be very successful and will give a huge return on any investment. In addition there is a further major hidden benefit in Product Placement where an investor can feature their businesses on screen or within the credits.
All in all, it is a no brainer for a shrewd business man.
Finally, Adrianne do you believe that this movie will make Cyprus and Cypriots famous worldwide?
I have absolutely no doubt that it will. Look what movies did to Scopios and Skiathos when Mama Mia was filmed there. It made the Convent of Ahios Ioanni Prodthromos in Skopelos a tourist attraction. What Captain Corellis Mandolin did for Kefalonia? What Downton Abbey has done for Highclere Castle. Fans of the “Hangover” Films are still booking the villa in Caesars Palace where the four doomed stag’s stayed and others take a trip to the hotels roof top to see the spot where Doug is held captive for the majority of the movie. Tourists visit and take photo’s of the blue door, the house of Will Thacker in Notting Hill and Harry Potter fans visit Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross Station.
Fans visit the Spire on top of the valley in New Zealand to walk in Frodo’s footsteps in Lord of the Rings. In Rome, The Versuvio is a café latino bar used by tourists to see the barman teach them the song that Jude Law and Matt Damon sang in the Talented Mr Ripley. The fire escape of the Las Palmas Hotel off Hollywood Boulevard is where Edward (Richard Gere) climbs to the music of Traviata to reach Vivian (Julia Roberts) is now a tourist attraction. But the most Iconic of all are the steps of Philadelphia’s Museum of Arts where Rocky Balboa ran up.
The legacy of the film could make the historic and beautiful landmarks of Cyprus as popular and as famous as these.The whole of the third Act is scripted to be filmed entirely in Cyprus. Some locations have already been identified and are been considered including Lefkara, the old Limassol docks, Kykoss Monastery and others are being sought – a beautiful picturesque beach , a Cypriot Taverna, an old village, an old church and a plaza to name a few.
As for the Cypriots, I can only re-iterate what I said before in that I want the world to see Cypriots as they really are deep down…… the kindest of people providing the greatest hospitality in the world. It is no secret that I not only want to put our Island on the world map but I want the world to see our peoples journey and how inspirational they are. It was a daunting prospect for those who uprooted to a far- away country with no money in their pocket, no education and no language, surviving against the odds through hardship, in times where there was no technology or conveniences and got on with it with no complaints and with a great sense of humour. These people are all heroes ,so much so that I will be dedicating the film to them. On a personal note, my parents are such people. I am very lucky to still have my 84 year old mother but once that generation pass it will be the end of an era and it is my wish is to have the film completed while some are still alive to see it. It would be a fantastic testimony to them.
When that generation of Cypriots uprooted from their homeland all those years ago they took their traditions with them. They maintained them and they still live within us today. I feel blessed to have been brought up with the morals and traditions of a Cypriot even though I have always lived in London. The younger generation have much to learn about the morals, work ethic and respect of their ancestors. If this film never lets them forget their roots then my personal mission in this world would be achieved.
