Make money by turning your home in France into a film set

A production company in the south of France is calling for distinctive traditional, or very modern, properties to add to its filming location database. Owners are paid if their home is used

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Homeowners in the south of France with traditional-style or very modern homes could see their property on screen soon, as a film production company is calling for new locations to add to its catalogue.

Occitanie-Films this week asked: “If you are you the owner of a traditional-style or very modern house, which is original and spacious, or of a natural or industrial site, you can suggest this site to welcome filming [to take place] on set, as part of the database developed by Film France.”

The company is especially looking for properties in the greater Toulouse area, as well as in the Tarn and Pyrénées-Orientales. It already has several properties in Gers and Lot.

Its database is used by cinema professionals - such as directors, set designers and producers - to help them with their location research for future projects. These might include films, TV shows, or advertising shoots.

In order to appear on the database and put your property forward as a potential filming location, Occitanie-Films recommends that you send between 15 to 25 good-quality landscape photos of the site.

Photos must be well-lit and show as much of the interior as possible (entrance, corridor, living room…) and the exterior (façade, garden, view, and any parking available).

If you think your property has potential, you are invited to contact elsa@occitanie-films.fr for the Toulouse and Tarn areas, and maxime@occitanie-films for the Pyrénées-Orientales.

You can also open an “individual account” on the Film France website here.

It is free to list your property on the Film France database, which is managed and moderated by film set office les Bureaux d’Accueil des Tournages.

What happens if my home is chosen?

If your site is chosen, the production team will contact you directly. They will likely arrange a visit to check if the location will work for their project.

If it does, filming will be arranged and a fee agreed. There is no “standard” fee for the use of your property; the production company will negotiate with you to agree on a price based on the criteria and scope of the project.

Homeowners should sign a contract with the production company. It should detail, as much as possible, the project plans, the needs of production, the obligations of the company and of the site owner, and the agreed fee.

Depending on the project, homeowners should be aware that:

  • Filming could last anywhere from one day to several months

  • Between 20-60 people will likely be on-site, including the entire production team

  • Heavy goods vehicles including trucks, as well as many cars, will likely be on-site

  • A film set may require other spaces, to allow for production offices, stock cupboards, accommodation space for the actors, electricity and water connection, and more

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