UAE is on the way to became one of the hottest filmmaking hubs. Various Hollywood productions are either entirely or partly shoot in the country. In addition, Bollywood, as well as the local movie industry have also started to open up to the idea of filming in the UAE. Abu Dhabi and Dubai are enjoying the interest of world known directors and producers. Among their portfolio of films are titles like Fast & Furious 7, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Bollywood’s Bang Bang and TV shows like Top Gear and most recently Bold and the Beautiful. Currently, the highly anticipated Star Wars: Episode VII is being shot in the deserts of Abu Dhabi.
But why is the UAE so popular among filmmakers? What is the country’s X-factor when it comes to the movie industry? The truth is that the United Arab Emirates has more than one X-factor. Both Dubai and Abu Dhabi stand out with a series of advantages which not many other locations can offer to Hollywood.
Political stability
First is the country’s political stability. The UAE is one of the few countries in the Middle East that is not under the grip of the Arab Spring. It remains almost untouched by turmoil taking place in the region. Also, the United Arab Emirates tends to be quite open to Western countries and culture. This is rarely seen in other Arab countries.
Diverse environment
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are the top choice of filmmakers who want to shot a movie in a Middle Eastern environment and to recreate an aspect of the Arab culture in their production. Although the architecture in the two cities tends to be quite contemporary, there are still areas which continue to preserve the culture of the region. Yet, the country stand out with its almost futuristic city landscape with buildings like Dubai’s Burj Khalifa , Burj Al Arab or its Palm islands, as well as Abu Dhabi’s Baynunah Tower or Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. In addition, the two cities are oasisaes surround by a desert. This allows filmmakers to shot scenes set in luxury hotel facilities, urban environment, Middle Eastern buildings or in the middle of nowhere all at one place. That can greatly decrease the cost of any big Hollywood production.
Great incentives
Dubai and especially Abu Dhabi also offer some great incentives to filmmakers who choose to set their movie in the area. UAE’s capital, for example, is giving a 30% rebate. This means that the emirate is giving back 30% of filmmakers’ expenses in the city. This covers everything including accommodation and production costs.
Abundance of local professionals
Most of the emirates in the country have come up with their own strategy to promote themselves as a movie-shooting destination. As part of these strategies, Dubai and Abu Dhabi invest in training locals to become high-skilled film professionals. As a result, filmmakers can easily hire a top-class crew in the country and save even more money and time.
Even though Egypt is still referred to as the movie hub of the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates is successfully challenging its position by luring directors and producers of Hollwyood blockbusters, as well as many regional and Bollywood films. If the country maintains it efforts in that direction, it may soon turn from a regional to a global movie hotspot.
