A year after the Dubai Film and TV Commission (DFTC) was established, the emirate has caught the eye of both Bollywood and Hollywood producers keen to shoot their films in the city.
The commission, which authorises audio and visual media production permits for TV, film and commercials is working to simplify the application and rebate system next year.
It will revisit the current rebate system, which offers incentives of up to 50 per cent on hotel stay, transport and visa to make it more efficient and cheaper for producers. It will also launch an online applications portal before February next year to simplify the applications process and enable producers to deal directly with location directors.
One of the biggest challenges facing production shoots in Dubai is that most of the locations are privately owned. But with the help of DFTC, the Government has enacted a law that prevents location owners from charging more than Dh25,000 for an entire day of filming. DFTC is looking to lower this fee further.
“We are working on rectifying and going back to private locations to extend the number of days and by convincing most of the private locations to open up,” said Jamal Al Sharif, the chairman of DFTC.
Last year almost Dh70 million came into Dubai through film, commercial and TV series shot in the city. There were about 20 films shot in Dubai this year. The commission is hoping to achieve its target of 1,000 applications by the end of this year.
Mr Al Sharif says the commission is on track to helping to generate Dh250m for the local economy by 2015. The emirate is expecting the media sector to contribute 1 to 2 per cent to Dubai’s GDP.
Mr Al Sharif is also looking to boost the country’s media talent so that local crew and support staff can be called upon for various shoots.
Dubai’s position as a leading filming destination was validated in 2010 with Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. Scenes of Tom Cruise escalating Burj Khalifa placed the emirate as a feasible shooting destination for big-budget films. The four-week shoot brought in $28m for Dubai. In total that year, Dubai raked in Dh165m from film and TV production.
Chinese cinema has also taken an interest in Dubai. Producers for Switch, a Chinese version of the James Bond films, chose various locations including Burj Khalifa to shoot scenes for the film.
The Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan praised the city’s infrastructure and services, saying that it was on a par with other leading global filming destinations during a press conference for the announcement of his latest project Happy New Year. The film was the first feature-length Bollywood film to be shot almost entirely in the emirate.
Now producers of the Bollywood comedy hit Welcome are currently in Dubai shooting a sequel to the film starring Anil Kapoor.
The two movies have helped to attract greater interest from Bollywood producers, who up until now have only chosen to shoot a few scenes in the city rather than an entire film.
“It is a slow process. It is half economic development, half growing an industry. It doesn’t happen overnight,” said Phil Alberstat, the executive producer of Romeo and Juliet and legal advisor to Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. “Producers always want money, incentives are a foot in the door.”
Dubai’s security, robust transport and infrastructure appealed to the producers of Mission Impossible, said Mr Alberstat. Direct flights from Dubai to Los Angeles also helped to clinch the deal as well as the convenience of luxury hotels and no tax, which helped to keep overall costs down.
However, the DFTC has come under fire for focusing too much on bringing in Hollywood and Bollywood projects. The local film-maker Nayla Al Khaja criticised the DFTC and the Government for failing to financially support Emirati film industry.
“You don’t have UAE-based producers who have experience in raising funds and identifying good projects. We’re too young, the film culture is naïve,” she said.
thamid@thenational.ae