THE EUROPE FILM COMMISSIONS ISSUED A COMMON PRODUCTION SAFETY GUIDELINES

As EU countries begin lifting the stay-at-home orders that were put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19, the Brussels-based European Film Commissions Network has issued what it calls the “Ten Commandments of Safe Filming” lists,  a baseline set of safety rules and protocols to help pan-European film production resume. The joint European film commissions’ document, posted by a group of Bulgarian production companies, consists of recommended basic measures based on a common EU safety directive, even though most European countries are expected to draft national protocols tied to local legislation. The purpose of these proposed “commandments” is “to share best practices and to co-operate to facilitate co-productions,” says Nevina Satta, Head of the Sardinia Film Commission in Italy, who forms part of the umbrella group.  Satta refers to it as a checklist for European countries covering the common aspects. She notes that it doesn’t have any legal value since it hasn’t been approved by all European nations, however, it “can help European productions be on the same page.”

The proposed basic rules for filming movies are being proposed as Italy and Spain slowly start lifting lockdown measures, while France prepares to ease restrictions on 11 May. Northern Europe outlined the most detailed coronavirus safety film production protocols since physical shooting is taking place in Sweden and Denmark, as well as Iceland. Countries in other European regions, like the Czech Republic and Hungary were operating at capacity when the pandemic shut down film and television production across the region in March. Now, Hollywood studios are looking ahead to summer and early fall when production is expected to resume in Hungary and the Czech Republic, Central Europe’s biggest production hubs. “The government has managed the crisis wisely, citizens, in general, acted responsibly, and the result is the infection rate has remained relatively low, allowing the country to re-open commercially and the industry to get back on its feet quickly,”  assured Stillking’s David Minkowski, Head of Productions in those countries. Meanwhile, U.K. industry trade organizations are working on their safety protocols, which will soon be presented to the government. France is also brainstorming guidelines that will be shown to the country’s health minister at the end of the week. The European film commissions’ umbrella group experts successfully identified the appropriate safety measures that should be enforced U.S. Line Producer Robert Bernacchi who, before the pandemic, was in Budapest running production on Showtime TV series “Halo,” which had to be interrupted in March. “Prior to the outbreak, we always had on set a health and safety representative and a medic,” says Bernacchi. “Now either those same people or an additional person will have to be up to speed on coronavirus protocol and issues.”

The rules on the list include tests for acting and related professions to prove the absence of the virus, basic personal protective equipment such as face masks, respirators, and rubber/latex gloves, personal disinfection, and on-site organization among distance between people. Temperature measurement is also included in the recommendations, along with catering service for food, securing the location, requiring necessary documentation, proper management while filming, and waste management. According to Bernacchi, the film industry has worked closely with the Ministry of Health to plan safety measures that will allow productions to resume “efficiently and safely.” Studios and networks seem just as eager to get back to work, he noted, with productions already lining up to follow those that wrap later this year, if a summer restart goes according to plan. “Our expectation is that we’re going to be jammed going into next year, and hopefully for most of next year, as a result of the backlog.” “Extras are traditionally treated like a pack of sheep…that’s got to end. You’ve got to be able to spread them out,” said Bernacchi. “Also, the new production protocols will mean that, when you have a nudity scene, finally you will be able to shoot it with five people on set instead of 500.” 

Among the productions that were suspended in Budapest were “The Nightingale,” a period drama starring Dakota and Elle Fanning from Sony label TriStar Pictures, and the Amazon Studios film “Birds of Paradise.” Disney also paused its Prague shoot of the upcoming Disney Plus series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” an “Avengers” spin-off starring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, while Amazon’s “Carnival Row,” starring Orlando Bloom, and an adaptation of Robert Jordan’s “The Wheel of Time” fantasy series, produced by Sony and Amazon Studios, are also on break. Some U.S. productions warned that a scheduled hasn’t been set, as the situation circumstances surrounding the virus may change.