From Hollywood to Bollywood, A-listers are shooting blockbusters in "exotic" Poland, a rising star in foreign film production thanks to world-class locations and crews available at a fraction of the price elsewhere in Europe.
Hollywood mogul Steven Spielberg recently wrapped up a top-secret week of shooting in the southern city of Wroclaw for what is billed as a 1960s Cold War-era spy thriller featuring fellow Oscar winner Tom Hanks.
Set and shot in the capital Warsaw this spring, Bollywood's hit action-romance comedy "Kick" starring A-list bad boy Salman Khan is on track to be India's all-time top-grossing film, spurring talk of a sequel.
Two other Bollywood productions, "Bangistan" and "Shaandaar", also chose Poland this year, as did Japan's upcoming historical drama "Persona Non Grata", while French director Anne Fontaine has scheduled a 40-day shoot in early 2015 for "Les Innocentes".
Native son Roman Polanski, who won an Oscar in 2003 for the Holocaust drama "The Pianist" filmed on location in Warsaw, is also considering a new project here.
"Poland is beautiful, it's exotic, it's unique and it's got a certain sense of style which we've not seen before ," said hit Indian film-maker and "Shaandaar" director Vikas Bahl.
Along with the novelty, there's the money factor.
Most European countries offer tax rebates for international film producers starting at around 20 percent of production cost, with Ireland touting a 32 percent tax credit as of next year.
While Poland as yet offers none, 100 local producers provide services at up to half the cost in western European states.
Add to this nearly 1,000 locations from modern cities to rugged mountains, beaches, forests, castles and pastoral countryside brimming with old-world charm. Foreign film-makers are increasingly seduced.
