UAE: Moving Beyond A Film Location

IBC

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‘Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens’ is the latest in a growing line of blockbusters to film on the Arabian peninsula. ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’ saw Tom Cruise scale Dubai's Burj Khalifa skyscraper; ‘Furious 7’ drove a car through the Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi; and the latest in the Star Trek franchise, ‘Star Trek Beyond’, wrapped scenes there last month.

While Hollywood producers are enticed by the desert and futuristic cityscape locations the Emirate authorities are keen to establish the UAE as more than a backdrop. “As we mature as a location we are looking to take TV and film production here to the next stage,” says Paul Baker, Executive Director of film & TV services at twofour54.

The state-backed media group, based in the UAE capital, works with the Abu Dhabi Film Commission to lure international productions to the area with 30% cash-back on feature films, TV shows, commercials and music videos. It also serves as a tax-free zone striving to nurture entertainment content creation in the region and offers a campus bristling with studio and post production facilities. “Our main focus is to encourage TV productions to hub out of Abu Dhabi,” says Baker. “A unique factor is that our 30% rebate covers all TV from entertainment to commercials not just drama.”

After ‘Top Gear’ and CBS drama ‘Bold and Beautiful’ shot episodes there, ‘Iftah Ya Sim Sim’, the Arabic version of ‘Sesame Street’, and Sony Playstation reality show ‘GT Academy’ are basing whole seasons in the facility.

“We are a production destination not just from a financial or location point of view but because of the strong infrastructure and support that allows a production to turn up and make a show here easily,” says Baker. “The broadcast market in the UAE is very mature. We shot 300 hours of Arabic drama here last year. There's been a huge amount of investment so the crew base is good with 500 skilled freelancers and a further 10,000 people on creative and technical training schemes.” 

To access the rebate productions are required to employ UAE nationals as interns. 
Playout facilities are managed by Ericsson, owner of Red Bee Media, which acquired twofour54’s playout business in February. “This deal gives producers the confidence that their information can be moved around by one of the most respected global connectivity companies,” says Baker. 

In Dubai Studio City, which competes with Abu Dhabi for productions, two vast sound stages complete with tanks for underwater filming have been open for a year. ‘MasterChef Arabia’ has been one tenant. U.S post production facility Stargate has a base at Studio City where it helped produce MBC dramas ‘Matrimonio’ and ‘Saraya Abdeen’.

There are plans to increase the capacity of twofour54's existing eleven studios as work relocates from more troubled regional zones like Egypt. “Major light entertainment shows like ‘Arab Idol’ have tended to shoot in Lebanon but we're now starting to engage in more detailed conversations about those shows coming to us,” says Baker. “Ultimately, what we're trying to achieve is to increase the quality and quantity of Arabic content so that these stories reach beyond the region and the diaspora to the wider market.”

The success of Danish drama ‘The Killing’ or South Korean cultural exports like ‘K-Pop’ are held up as a model. “We are also looking for opportunities to work with producers in developing hit international shows,” adds Baker, who suggests that for every $1 of inward spend, the state receives $4.5 returned in economic impact. “On the basis of the amount of productions coming through and the attractiveness of the Emirates as a destination we fully expect to see more and more companies and freelancers set up here.”

It's a chance too to reset the balance from the negative perception of the region in the West. “The quality of Arabic content on the drama side is increasing and as the production values rise so will the attractiveness of content for export beyond the immediate region. It is a very oral society. There are a lot of stories to be told.”