Jordan

Film Locations. Jordan is best known for its wealth of historic locations.

The capital Amman offers a Roman amphitheater and citadel, traditional Arab markets and the Temple of Hercules.

Jerash is a well preserved Roman city 45km north of Amman.

Bethany, the site revered as the place where Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist is 40km west of Amman.

The Christian city of Madaba is 40km south of Amman. Mount Nebo Moses Memorial Church is the presumed site of The Prophet Moses' death and burial place. A small square church was built on the spot by early Byzantine Christians. St. George Church, built in 1884 over the remains of a Byzantine church has a famous Byzantine mosaic map of the Holy Land and Jerusalem dated around 560 AD. Machaerus, the hilltop stronghold of Herod the Great where John the Baptist was beheaded.

The Dead Sea is 45km west of Amman. Sitting at 400 meters below sea level is believed to be the site of five biblical cities: Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim and Zoar (Bela). Lot's Cave - The cave is on a hill near a tiny spring, overlooking the Dead Sea. Here Lot and his daughters are believed to have sought refuge after God destroyed the city of Sodom. Desert castles - Scattered throughout the various deserts in Jordan. Built mostly under the Umayyads (AD 650-750). Ajloun Castles are 60km north of Amman. Karak Castle and Al-Shobaq in the south built by the crusaders. All the above mentioned castles are well preserved.

Wadi Rum is 300km outside of Amman. Outstanding desert landscape. Land of the Bedouin and Lawrence of Arabia.

Petra. The ancient city of the Nabataeans. Built more than 2000 years ago. It can be found 250km south of Amman.

Aqaba. Located on the Red Sea Aqaba offers sandy beaches, coral reefs and world class diving. Aqaba is 350km from Amman.

Wadi Moujeb Reserve. Hot springs inside a gorge. The reserve area is located in the deepest point on earth. This is 50km west from Amman.

Jordan also offers a variety of beautiful natural scenes such as rivers, canyons, natural spas and valleys.

Permits. Typically permits can be obtained within three working days. There are no or limited restrictions. Jordan is a very film-friendly country. You can easily access anything from a simple location through to military equipment.

When to shoot? The climate is mainly Mediterranean with hot dry summers and cool wet winters. December to February are the coldest months. Jordan also gets a considerable amount of cold weather, rain and sometimes snow on hilly areas. July and August are very hot and dry. Jordan gets fourteen hours of sunlight in the summer and ten hours in the winter months.

For monthly weather statistics please see here.

Please contact us for more specific weather and sun path information.

Costs. It's all job specific but on average Jordan is at a similar price point to other service centres in the Middle East. Compared to Egypt for instance, key crew and talent in Jordan are more expensive but on the other hand public locations are free of charge. Supporting crew in Jordan are inexpensive. Hotels are much cheaper in Jordan than Egypt or UAE. Jordan is also overall less expensive and has less red tape than Israel. Equipment in Jordan is more costly as most of it needs to be brought in from abroad.

Talent both union and non-union but mainly the latter.

Jordan offers mostly Middle Eastern looks from dark Bedouin looks to almost Caucasian European looks. Its close proximity to other major European production centres allows easy access to those multicultural pools of talent should you ever need to look further.

Jordan has several basic talent agencies and street casting is also common.

Creative talent. Jordan has a very limited pool of local directors, directors of photography and stills photographers. Its close proximity to other major European production centres allows easy access to those pools of creative talent should you ever need to look further.

Please contact us for recommended directors, DoP's and photographers for your project.

Crews. Good and professional. Key crew in Jordan speak good English.

Fringes. No hidden extras.

Premiums. No fixed or enforced rules here. All of this is looked after by our service producer on a case by case basis in a way that is fair to everyone. Friday is the official day off in Jordan and on Saturday business (Banks, schools etc) and government are closed.

Equipment. Basic lights and grip are available locally. Camera equipment is brought in from abroad.

Art department and set construction are skillful but tend to require creative guidance. Many are from Egypt but there is also now a great pool of brilliant Iraqi artists that are now living in Jordan.

Studios. There are several studios all based in Amman.

Backlots. At present there are no backlots in Jordan.

Tax Incentives. Since the film negative is considered an export foreign productions are exempt from the 16% sales tax.

Film Stock. No film stock available locally. This is usually brought in from Israel, Lebanon, Syria, or Egypt. We arrange special permits from the army not to x-ray stock entering or leaving Jordan.

Post Production. Best to do post in Tel Aviv or Beirut which are both a short one hour flight away.

Visas and Work Permits. Only certain countries need visas and there is no need for work permits. USA, Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan passport holders can obtain two week entry visas from their port of entry. Contact your local Jordanian embassy / representative for more information.

Transportation Infrastructure is all up to known and expected world standards. It is widely considered as having one the more developed transport infrastructures in the Middle East.

Accommodation. Recommended hotels include:

Amman:
Four seasons
Grand Hyatt
Canyon Boutique Hotel

Aqaba (Red Sea):
Kempinski Hotel Aqaba Red Sea
Moevenpick Resort & Spa Tala Bay Aqaba

Please contact us for corporate rates.

For longer stays we can also organize serviced apartments.

Communication. Web posted casting, scouting and videoconferencing.

Safety. Jordan is a relatively safe place to film. See below quotes from film people that have shot in Jordan:

"Jordan is an extremely beautiful country with much to offer to any filmmaker from any culture, and the Jordanians are sincerely committed to being generous hosts to the international film community" - Richard Gere, Actor

"Jordan's amazing landscape, architecture and people make it one of the most stunning countries I've ever seen and I am certain that it has a tremendous future in the entertainment industry" - Angelina Jolie, Actress

"It was a treat filming in Jordan, safe and extremely hospitable. The people were exceedingly helpful and put up with inconveniences that one would never have gotten away within the UK or USA" - Nick Broomfield, Director

"Our experience in shooting in Jordan was an extremely positive one. The support from the Royal Film Commission was essential to having a smooth and successful shoot. We look forward to going back and working in Jordan again soon" - Brian De Palma, Director

Projects. For an example of TV commercials, online advertising, corporate videos, stills campaigns, feature films, TV series and documentaries shot in Jordan, please see below:

Our production service companies, line producers and fixers have serviced TV commercials, online advertising, corporate videos, stills campaigns, feature films, TV series and documentaries for:

AXA Belgium, BBC UK, Canon Singapore, Coca Cola Indonesia, Concord Canada, Dove Malaysia, Deutche Bank Germany, Dressman Sweden, Evian France, HBO USA, Heineken Ireland, Hyundai Korea, Intercontinental Hotels Global, ITC India, Kirin Japan, Kraft USA, Landrover UK, LG Korea, Meunil China, McDonalds Australia, MUFG Japan, Nikon Hong Kong, Nokia China, Orange Moblie Slovakia, Philips Netherlands, Proctor & Gamble USA, Chery Riich China, Rimowa Germany, Samsung Korea, Sinoland Hong Kong, Skipper Italy, Smirnoff USA, Sony United Arab Emirates, Stella Russia, Telefonica Spain, Vidal Sassoon China, Virgin Media UK, and much more.

If you are looking for a film or photographic production service company, line producer or fixer in Jordan, please contact us.

We are able to provide you with answers, references and bids quickly.