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Abu Dhabi is stepping up efforts to lure more film and TV shoots to the United Arab Emirates’ capital by enhancing its new rebate which is now set to reach up to 50% of qualified below-the-line spend starting in January 2025.
After becoming a prime Middle East hub for Hollywood and Bollywood productions over the past decade, the Abu Dhabi Film Commission in October announced they were upping their previous 30% rebate to more than 35%. Now they have now unveiled how, on top of the rebate’s new 35% baseline, productions can reach a total rebate of 50% on their principal photography and post-production costs by meeting new criteria.
These include featuring the UAE’s national history, culture and identity in the productions’ storylines; carrying out full post-production work in Abu Dhabi; and doing the main unit production of a feature film in Abu Dhabi and/or filming an entire TV series in the emirate.
Abu Dhabi’s new rebate will also raise the cap from $5 million to $10 million on the total cashback incentives on qualifying production spend that companies from Hollywood, Bollywood, the Arab world and beyond can obtain from the Abu Dhabi Film Commission.
Popular on Variety The idea behind this new push is for Abu Dhabi to attract not just more shoots, but also different types of productions than the more than 170 they’ve lured so far.
“I think the new rebate is going to open up a door for new industries to come and consider Abu Dhabi as a production destination,” said Mohamed Dobay, acting director general of Abu Dhabi’s Creative Media Authority, in an interview. He specified that besides feature films, TV series, and commercials they are now looking to attract game shows, reality shows and animation projects as well as shorts of all types.
“The reception of our initial baseline increase from 30% to 35% plus in October was extremely positive and the team has since seen an exciting surge of interest from across the world, which will no doubt surge again with these additional layers of detail that we are announcing now, said Abu Dhabi Film Commission chief executive Sameer Al Jaberi.
Al Jaberi added that besides stimulating the Abu Dhabi economy international productions have also been providing “world-class learning and training opportunities.” “With more than a decade of experience hosting global and regional major productions, the team at ADFC is well versed in the nuances of film and TV production and has demonstrated over the years the ease of doing business here in Abu Dhabi,” he went on to note.
Major Hollywood productions that have shot in Abu Dhabi over the past decade include “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”; “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”; “6 Underground” and “Furious 7” as well as Bollywood hits such as “Vikram Vedha”; “Tiger Zinda Hai” and Bharat.
The most recent Hollywood shoot that has been announced is “Dune: Part Two,” which spent almost a month shooting in the Liwa Oasis that provided a substantial portion of the landscape of the desert planet Arrakis, home to the monstrous sandworms.
