Producer Thoughts: Carnets for Film and Crossing Borders

Filmmaking can lead to amazing experiences. Whether that be climbing the mountains of Colorado, the sunny coasts of California or the empty spaces of North Dakota you can see a lot of the world while making films and telling stories. But what about when your story requires you to travel outside the country? That’s where today’s topic of carnets come in.

What is a carnet? If you would have asked me that question a year ago I would have had do a quick Google search to tell you. But as a producer you’re always learning and these past several months that has included the world of carnets.

The short answer is, a carnet is a temporary import/export manifest that you use when traveling to other countries to avoid having to pay tariffs and taxes on the equipment or items you are taking into the country because you also plan to leave the country with them. Essentially, it’s used to prove to the country you’re entering that you’re not just trying to make a fast buck selling gear in another country without having to pay taxes on it.

Right off the bat you may be wondering, is it worth the hassle of doing even more paperwork as a producer to get a carnet? Can’t you go without it? In some cases yes. Not every country or territory wants/needs a carnet filled out so definitely check on that. But what about the countries that do want it? Should you risk trying to enter without one? That ultimately is up to you. On the shoot I was recently a part of the risk was that they could decide to charge us x% of the value of our gear. And as any filmmaker knows, film gear is expensive so that number can grow really fast.

So where do you go to get a carnet if you are based in the U.S.? From my research talking with filmmakers and the carnet companies I found that there are actually only two groups in the U.S. capable of issuing carnets. ATA Carnet | Boomerang Carnets® and About Carnets Xpress - Carnets Xpress. Both came recommended to me so ultimately you just have to check them out and make the call for which one you want to go with. For the shoot I was coordinating it ultimately came down to who was available to get it done because it was a very last-minute job.

Like everything there is a cost to getting the carnet so make sure that you budget for that ahead time. It’s still a better deal than the risk you run in not having a carnet but the number will still impact your budget. In working with both companies, they were very good at being able to give me estimates that came in very close to the final cost so definitely reach out and talk to them as opposed to just throwing a number into your budget.

So, what all information gets included on a carnet? Like anything there’s the basic contact info, the mode of transportation the listed items are entering the country through (car, plane, boat, etc.), and also if the country is the destination country or a pass-through country. An example of a pass-through country is, if you would be driving through the U.S. from Mexico, but your final destination was Canada.

The real work comes in gathering all the info on the equipment you’re traveling with. At a minimum you have to include the make, model, serial number, quantity, value and country of manufacture for all the gear you’re taking. That task might seem easy until you have to start working with rental houses or the individual crew you’re renting gear from, to get all that information in time. The rental houses are where it can be a real challenge because they usually won’t be able to give you the exact serial numbers until a few days before the shoot, while at the same time most carnets need to be filed 24-48 hours before you go to cross the border. Because of that, I would highly recommend either renting gear directly from crew that are coming on the shoot, owning the gear yourself or renting it in your destination country. However, I know, especially with documentary films, that doesn’t always work out. Another way to make this easier is if you can either give yourself a couple of prep days with the gear or start the shoot in the country of origin so that you have an extra couple of days to get the paperwork in place.

You’ve now reached the shoot. You have your carnet in hand and are ready to get into the country and start making movie magic. But what can you expect when crossing the border? The number one thing to remember is to make sure your carnet gets approved and stamped at every port of entry/exit by both countries. This means if you’re heading into Mexico both the U.S. and Mexico customs have to stamp it both times. If this doesn’t happen, you’ll find yourself in a position of not being able to prove you came into the country with all the gear and you could face having to pay those tariffs and taxes. If for some reason that does happen, the advice I was given was to call the company that issued the carnet right away as there is paperwork to fill out acknowledging the error that will help protect you from paying those costs.

Beyond that, the biggest thing is to make sure you give yourself adequate time the day of your border crossing. The customs approval could go by quickly with them pretty much just stamping it and sending you on your way, but they could also require you to show them every single piece of gear listed on the carnet. Something that could take a couple hours depending on the amount of gear.

My other recommendation is to have a local with you or at least someone who speaks the native language of that country when going through customs. The customs agents aren’t always fluent in every language so having someone that can understand their language and translate for you can make a world of difference.

The final step in the carnet process is to then get the carnet submitted once you are back and the trip is done. The carnet company we worked with on the shoot actually did this for us. Pretty much it’s just that final bookkeeping step in making sure that you weren’t trying to make a fast buck selling gear.

Congratulations! You’ve now survived your first major filming trip out of country. Not really, but now you know the gist of what to expect and what needs to get done to keep your production running smoothly. Ultimately the top two things when it comes to out of country travel is 1) giving yourself the time to get everything squared away and 2) doing your research. This could be talking to filmmakers who have filmed in that country, the carnet company, the border crossing, local contacts, or all of the above. Every country will do things slightly differently so knowing what to expect for that particular trip will save you time and energy in the long run.