Effective February 1, Dubai Film & TV Commission will outdo its previous record by slashing the time to issue permits for filming in Dubai from three days to one. The Film Commission is also looking to provide permits for aerial filming online.
Dubai is pegged to get a further boost as a filmmaking destination with the Dubai Film & TV Commission (DFTC) announcing that it will issue permits for filming in Dubai within one day, effective February 1, 2019. Jamal Al Sharif, Chairman of Dubai Film and TV Commission pointed out that this announcement is aligned with Dubais UAE Vision 2021.
BroadcastPro can also reveal that the Film Commission is working on providing permits for aerial filming online this year.
Speaking to BroadcastPro, Saeed Al Janahi, Director of Operations at DFTC said: “Film permits in Dubai were issued within three working days through the Film Commission previously and this is already the fastest time frame in the world. We have now decided to outdo ourselves by offering this within one day to keep the producers and directors focused on the creativity of their projects. Moreover, I would like to thank our customers for their valuable feedback and our board members, Dubai Police, Media Office, Dubai Municipality, RTA, Department of Economic Development, Dubai Tourism, Jumeirah Group, Emirates, Dubai Studio City and Dubai International Film Festival for their continuous support.
Last year, DFTC received 953 applications to film in Dubai, and this included movies, documentaries, TV series, commercial and corporate videos. A number of well-known Bollywood and Hollywood movies including Race, Beneath a Sea of Lights and Zero were filmed in Dubai last year.
Al Janahi also confirmed that the Commission is looking to provide permits for aerial filming online.
“At present, we only take applications for ground permits online. We hope to facilitate online permits for aerial filming before the end of 2019.”
