The animated TV series Bionic Max has qualified for financial incentives under the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) and its FilmPhilippines Office’s (FPO) Film Location Incentive Program (FLIP).
France–based Gaumont has secured the services of Filipino production company Top Draw Animation for Bionic Max, an animated children’s series about the misadventures of a bionic guinea pig named Max and his goldfish friend JC. Through FLIP, Top Draw Animation is now eligible for a 20% cash rebate of up to PHP 10 Million (approx. US$ 196,000).
Top Draw Animation, founded in 1999, has previously worked for other well-known international productions, including My Little Pony: the Movie (2018), The Hollow (2018), and Penn Zero: Part Time Hero Season 2 (2017).
FLIP is FDCP’s financial incentives program that provides cash rebates to Filipino line production companies working on international projects. The program seeks to support such projects by providing financial flexibility for Filipino production companies hired by international productions. It launched its first cycle in January this year.
Projects across a range of audiovisual media are eligible for FLIP. A wide variety of audiovisual productions, from animated series’ such as Bionic Max to live-action films and shows, documentary projects, and more may receive cash rebates through the program. To be eligible, international productions must hire Filipino line production companies and have a minimum qualified production spending of PHP 8 million. Like Bionic Max, eligible productions may receive up to PHP 10 Million in cash rebates.
Bionic Max qualified for FLIP during the program’s second cycle of applications which was held from May 1st to July 31st. It is now the third project to receive financial incentives under FLIP. During its first cycle, FDCP awarded incentives to the Filipino line producers of the shows Almost Paradise and Survivor Russia.
In addition to FLIP, FDCP also implements the International Co-Production Fund (ICOF) this year. ICOF is a selective fund for feature-length films of any genre that are internationally co-produced with Filipino production companies. It provides up to PHP 10 Million in cash incentives and requires a minimum projected spending of PHP 5 Million.
During its first cycle, ICOF awarded the projects Nocebo (directed by Lorcan Finnegan and co-produced by Philippines-based Epicmedia and UK-based Wild Swim Films) and Kapag Wala Nang Mga Alon (When the Waves are Gone) (directed by Lav Diaz and co-produced by Epicmedia alongside Danish production company Snowglobe and French production company Films Boutique) with funding.
Both FLIP and ICOF were launched by FDCP’s FilmPhilippines Office to encourage more international productions to hire or co-produce their projects with Philippine production companies.
Productions wishing to avail of either FLIP or ICOF incentives may apply now. The third cycle for applications for both financial incentive programs opened on September 1st and will continue through November 27.
