Film production in Belgium
Belgium is covered here with 4 locations. Between the longest and shortest day, usable light swings by up to 8h 38min depending on where you shoot — planning across the country is not planning one single kind of day.
Locations at a glance
The table shows June and December daylight for each location — the two numbers a schedule hinges on across the year.
| Location | Daylight June | Daylight December | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antwerp | 16h 33min | 7h 55min | 8h 38min |
| Ghent | 16h 31min | 7h 57min | 8h 34min |
| Brussels | 16h 29min | 7h 58min | 8h 31min |
| Liège | 16h 27min | 8h 01min | 8h 26min |
What that means for planning
Antwerp has the widest swing at 8h 38min, Liège the narrowest at 8h 26min. The wider the spread, the more a schedule has to differ between summer and winter — same setup count, different hours to fit it in.
Concretely: in December, the sun in Antwerp sets at 16:36, with golden hour starting as early as 15:35. Put the exterior at the end of the day and you shoot it in the dark, or not at all.
TillyGen folds each location's sun position straight into the schedule. An exterior that no longer fits before sunset in December is flagged in the plan, not discovered on the day. The same calculation sits behind every location page for this country.
Film incentives and rebates
Belgium's Tax Shelter typically channels 25–35 % of Belgian spend back into the production via investors. Belgium's Tax Shelter is a financing instrument, not a discount: it is structured through investors and therefore almost always via a Belgian co-producer.
What that means in practice depends on the qualifying share: on a €1m budget with 60 % qualifying spend, the 35 % rate returns roughly €210,000. Provided without warranty. Permit and incentive conditions change; the responsible authority is always the binding source.
As of: 2025-01 · Source: finances.belgium.be
Permits and local requirements
Filming permits are granted locally almost everywhere, not nationally: the city or district you shoot in is the responsible body, and processing times differ considerably within the same country. Public space, traffic areas and drone flights each run through separate procedures.
File early enough that a refusal still leaves room for a cover location — not so late that the permit becomes the condition for the only possible shoot day. Only the responsible local authority gives binding information.
Frequently asked
How many locations in Belgium are covered here?
4. Locations are included when there is an evidenced production landscape — not every town in the country.
Which location in Belgium has the longest shooting days?
In June, Antwerp with 16h 33min of daylight. In December that drops to 7h 55min.
When is the best time to shoot in Belgium?
On daylight length alone, June. Whether that also means the steadiest weather depends on the location — the individual location pages carry rain days and sunshine hours per month.
Do I need a separate permit for every location?
As a rule yes, as soon as public ground is involved. Private locations run through the owner; traffic areas and drones add further procedures. The local authority is always the binding source.