A former Public Accounts Committee lay member is urging ministers to assess a £13.5 million incentive scheme for an AI-assisted film production, warning that Jersey could miss its chance to set an international standard.
Chartered accountant Vijay Khakhria said the proposed two-year scheme could attract millions of pounds in local spending and create jobs, while positioning the Island as the first jurisdiction to tie film incentives to published “human-led” rules for generative AI.
In a submission to the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel’s Budget review, he argued that that government has no clear process for deciding whether to introduce the wider scheme.
“The scheme works financially whether Jersey announces first or second. What is lost by going second is the global spotlight,” he wrote.
Mr Khakhria, who has more than 20 years’ senior financial, commercial and governance experience, is a non-executive director of both Andium Homes and Jersey Opera House.
He has designed the proposal and its economic case at his own expense since April, and declares a “modest interest” in a group that could offer production services under it.
The scheme proposes up to £5 million in incentives for films made in 2027, paid from the 2028 Budget, followed by £8.5 million for productions made in 2028, paid the following year.
Payments would cover a share of independently certified Jersey spending and would only be made once a film was completed.
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, including £14.4 million paid to Island businesses. Their central estimate puts the net public cost over five years at £4.8 million.
They also forecast around 54 full-time-equivalent new jobs in the first year, potentially rising to 400 by 2031 if the scheme expands. Each film would provide four paid internships.
Mr Khakhria says AI-assisted production could use computer-based teams and short recording sessions with performers, reducing the need for conventional studios and equipment.
According to his submission, the Economy Department has referred a single pilot production to Digital Jersey’s Impact Jersey programme, but will not progress the wider scheme separately in the meantime.
He argues that assessing a grant application does not amount to assessing an industry-wide incentive.
The submission also records Economic Development Minister’s comments on 4 November that government was talking to businesses interested in establishing AI film production in Jersey and was “trying to understand if there are barriers that exist that are preventing them from establishing”.
Mr Khakhria wants Scrutiny to seek a clear timetable and responsible officer, and recommend that the department assess the proposal during the current Budget cycle.
