Twofour54 and the Abu Dhabi Film Commission have launched the regions first incentive scheme to make Abu Dhabi more appealing to international and regional producers needing location, production and post-production services. The announcement was made at Cannes Film Festival. According to the scheme, a rebate of up to 30% of qualifying spend in Abu Dhabi […]
Twofour54 and the Abu Dhabi Film Commission have launched the regions first incentive scheme to make Abu Dhabi more appealing to international and regional producers needing location, production and post-production services.
The announcement was made at Cannes Film Festival. According to the scheme, a rebate of up to 30% of qualifying spend in Abu Dhabi will be available for feature films, TV, documentary, advertising and music video production. The scheme will be operational from September 1, 2012.
The qualifying spend refers to goods and services sourced from Abu Dhabi and for relevant expenditure on location or studio filming and post-production.
It will also cover costs relating to the contracting of any UAE registered crew and services for activities in Abu Dhabi. Temporary accommodation costs inAbu Dhabi, as well as airline tickets and freight booked on Etihad Airways, will also qualify for the rebate.
Twofour54s position as the hub for the creative and production industries in the region ensures that Abu Dhabi can deliver key industry infrastructure; a great range of diverse urban locations and landscapes, one-stop shop providing prompt government services for all visa/permit requirements, experienced crew and equipment hire supported by state of the art facilities. These include 10 fully-HD studios up to 1,000m², 23 post-production suites and the regions only Baselight colour grading facility.
A number of recent productions have already been shot successfully with twofour54 including The Bourne Legacy, starring Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz, a big budget Indian production titled Oru Maru Bhoomi Khatha by director Priyadarshan and Oru Kal Oru Kandadi, a Tamil film by Manickavasagom among others.
Our new incentive scheme is unique in the MENA region and focussed on attracting international and regional productions to Abu Dhabi, explained Wayne Borg, deputy CEO and chief operating officer of Twofour54, at the Cannes Film Festival where the scheme was launched.
This initiative reflects the culmination of our efforts to put in place all the key ingredients to reinforce our position as the regional hub and first choice, go-to place for producers. This is our commitment to the film and TV production industry. We expect to accelerate production activity and in doing, so fulfil our objective to further fuel the development of the regional media industry by providing the opportunity for Arab filmmakers, crew and production support companies to work alongside their international counterparts.
