Abu Dhabi increases film rebate to 35 per cent in major push for international production in UAE

Commission chief says it is time for the emirate to 'raise the bar' and be all-year-round production hub

Tom Cruise on the set of Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning - Part One in Abu Dhabi. Photo: Abu Dhabi Film Commission

Abu Dhabi Film Commission has announced that it will increase its subsidy on film and television productions in the emirate from 30 to 35 per cent next year.

The rebate rise, eligible to productions that apply for it from January 1, 2025, is part of a drive to expand the number of Hollywood, Bollywood and regional productions coming to the emirate and comes 11 years after the incentive programme was launched.

“I think we reached a point where we are ready for more projects,” Sameer Al Jaberi, head of Abu Dhabi Film Commission, told The National. “It’s time for Abu Dhabi to raise the bar.”

The move puts Abu Dhabi in line with the world’s most competitive rebate programmes, such as Ireland and British Columbia in Canada, which have each resulted in a huge increase in production.

Film production rebates are cashback schemes paid to production companies by the state, usually as a percentage of the company's qualified expenses.

More than 150 international projects have been filmed in Abu Dhabi since the initial incentive programme began in 2013, including Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Furious 7, and Dune: Part Two. Those productions have helped develop both the physical infrastructure needed for filming large-scale productions and the local talent that is now able to assist.

Khalid Khouri, industry development director of the Creative Media Authority, said: “When we started developing talent here 15 years ago, everyone wanted to be a director. Now that has changed and people are coming to us wanting to be camera operators, set designers, or even film accountants. It’s a clear sign of a maturing industry.”

In Khouri’s view, what has been particularly encouraging is the number of smaller, one-off partnerships with film studios that have developed into significant relationships.

“Major studio productions used to come for a few days to shoot and then leave. Now they’re coming sometimes for a full month only a couple years later,” added Khouri, alluding in particular to Abu Dhabi’s role in the Dune franchise from the first instalment to the second.

One reason for the timing of the Abu Dhabi announcement is the plan to open modern production facilities dubbed twofour54 Studios by this time next year. It will include soundstages, an exterior water tank and six standing sets.

Those facilities will complement the existing ecosystem, which consists of 800 locally-based media companies, 300 of which focus on production, and a freelancer talent pool of more than 1,000 people. There is also an increasing crop of prospective interns; a golden visa programme focused on film; and locations such as the Liwa desert and Louvre Abu Dhabi, which have been utilised by Bollywood productions like Bharat and Tiger Zinda Hai and Hollywood films such as 6 Underground.

Part of what has attracted international talent, such as Tom Cruise for Mission: Impossible, is the emirate’s ability to pull off projects that might be virtually impossible elsewhere, Al Jaberi explained.

“We have a really can-do attitude,” he added. “Anything that comes our way, we say, let’s make it happen. And we have the environment to do so – and the ability to execute it safety. We are ranked as the safest city in the world, and that brings a lot of productions our way. We have seen Abu Dhabi double for Indian cities in major Bollywood films such as Vikram Vedha, for example, that came to us because of the safety we ensured.”

The goal of both the increased rebate and new facilities is to ensure that there are projects filming throughout the year, so that they are less reliant on seasonal weather. “We want to close the gap throughout the year, for Hollywood, Bollywood and regional productions,” added Al Jaberi.

Al Jaberi and Khouri have now started discussions with international film studios about the rebate, which has already received a positive reaction.

“We have been receiving great messages and phone calls from the market,” says Khouri. “The excitement is high. This is going to be really good for us. We’re so excited about it.”