In brief: A former Public Accounts Committee lay member is calling on Jersey ministers to make a decision on a £13.5 million AI-assisted film production incentive scheme, warning the Island risks losing its chance to lead the world on generative AI rules for film. The two-year pilot could generate £24 million in production spending and up to 400 jobs by 2031, according to its promoter’s forecasts.
The Proposal on the Table
Chartered accountant Vijay Khakhria, a non-executive director of both Andium Homes and Jersey Opera House, has been developing the scheme at his own expense since April. He has submitted it to the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel’s Budget review, and Bailiwick Express reports he declares a “modest interest” in a group that could offer production services under the scheme.
The plan would see up to £5 million in incentives offered for films made in 2027, paid from the 2028 Budget, followed by £8.5 million for productions made in 2028, paid the year after. Crucially, payments would only be made once a film was completed and would cover a share of independently certified Jersey spending. Film rights would be held in a Jersey company, worldwide sales routed through a Jersey bank, and the government would receive a share of worldwide receipts.
The promoters forecast £24 million in production spending routed through Jersey during the pilot, with £14.4 million going directly to Island businesses. Their central estimate puts the net public cost over five years at £4.8 million. Around 54 full-time-equivalent jobs are forecast in the first year, potentially rising to 400 by 2031 if the scheme expands, with each film providing four paid internships.
The AI Angle: First Mover or Footnote?
What makes this more than a standard film incentive pitch is the AI dimension. Mr Khakhria argues that Jersey could become the first jurisdiction in the world to tie film incentives to published, “human-led” rules for generative AI. AI-assisted production, he explains, could use computer-based teams and short recording sessions with performers, significantly reducing the need for conventional studios and expensive equipment.
The global film industry is wrestling with exactly these questions right now, and the opportunity to set the standard, rather than follow someone else’s, is the crux of his argument. As he puts it in his submission: “The scheme works financially whether Jersey announces first or second. What is lost by going second is the global spotlight.”
It is a pointed observation. Jersey has built its reputation in finance precisely by being nimble and forward-thinking. The question is whether that same instinct applies when the product is movies rather than money.
Government: Interested, But Moving Slowly
The response from the Economy Department so far has been cautious, to put it charitably. According to Mr Khakhria’s submission, the department has referred a single pilot production to Digital Jersey’s Impact Jersey programme, but will not progress the wider incentive scheme separately in the meantime. He argues, reasonably, that assessing one grant application is not the same as assessing an industry-wide incentive.
The Economic Development Minister’s comments on 4 November, as recorded in the submission, suggest the government is still at the “trying to understand” stage, noting it was talking to businesses interested in AI film production and was “trying to understand if there are barriers that exist that are preventing them from establishing.” That is a long way from a decision.
Mr Khakhria is asking Scrutiny to push for a clear timetable, a named responsible officer, and a recommendation that the department assess the proposal during the current Budget cycle. Without that structure, he warns, the proposal risks drifting without a decision ever being made.
Source: Bailiwick Express
