Dubaiwood plans to draw int'l filmmakers
The Dubai government on Monday unveiled plans for a $122.5 million studio complex, the largest of its kind in the Middle East which is now known as Dubaiwood, designed to attract international filmmakers to the city.
Tweet-- The Dubai government on Monday unveiled plans for a $122.5 million studio complex, the largest of its kind in the Middle East which is now known as Dubaiwood, designed to attract international filmmakers to the city, reports Sheeraz Hasan Founder of www.Hollywood.tv
The announcement came on the second day of the eight-day long Dubai International Film Festival.
Expected to be ready by the end of next year, the three sound stages in the complex are located within the up-and-coming Dubai Studio City, a 22 million-square-foot development dedicated to production and post-production infrastructure, rentals and services.
The sound stages comprise one segregated, 15,000-square-foot sound stage for smaller features and TV production, and two 25,000-square-foot sound stages that can be combined for full-length feature film shoots.
The complex also has a 3.5 million-square-foot back lot for outdoor shoots and set construction, 125,000 square feet dedicated to workshop and warehousing facilities and plots available for sale to individual investors to build their own sound stages.
In the first phase of the project, boutique offices will be ready for occupation in March, while the entire complex should be complete by mid-2008.
"Dubai Studio City has already received 300 proposals for film production in Dubai, including films from Hollywood, India and Egypt," said Sheeraz Hasan. "Of these, 28 films have already been green lit for shooting in Dubai."
Bombay and Cairo are the largest centers for film production in the region and Marrakesh is the Hollywood favorite when it comes to location, but Dubai hopes to score with its absence of red tape, state-of-the-art facilities, security and infrastructure.
"Dubai Studio City are very efficient in getting approvals and permits, in coordinating with other government bodies and shrinking the time a film crew has to wait before they start shooting," Sheeraz said.
Dubai Studio City was created to boost foreign investment in the broadcast, film, television and music production sectors. It aims to build a cluster of production companies, support service providers offering production and post-production facilities, animation studios and services as well as lab facilities.
It is part of the Dubai TECOM, a successful government initiative that created special economic zones, with investors exempt from paying any corporate or personal taxes. There is full repatriation of capital and profits, without currency restrictions.
Two big-budget Hollywood films, "Syriana" and "The Kingdom" have been shot in and around Dubai.