Morocco
Film Locations. Tichka Mountains, Atlas Mountains, desert oasis, beaches, desert landscapes, historic monuments such as the Unesco rural village Ait Benhaddou, mountain and desert roads, orange and apple plantations. The main production centres are Casablanca for coastal looks, Marrakech for Unesco protected city oasis and Ouarzazate for desert looks. Marrakech and Casablanca also offer a great choice of extraordinary modern city architecture - private villas and hotels. Shooting the Sahara sand dunes requires basing in Ouarzazate and another 4.5 hours drive to location. Crew and equipment come from Casablanca. Morocco also administers the territory of Western Sahara.
Permits. No extraordinary restrictions or rules apply. Depending on the nature of each job it typically takes no longer than four working days but in an emergency we have been able to get shooting authorisation within a day or two.
When to shoot? Depending on the locations required Morocco has shooting possibilities all year long. There are blue skies almost all year round. Rain and snowfall occurs in January and only in the northern regions. Winters have eleven hours of sunlight and summers have fourteen. Shooting in the southern desert regions is not recommended between June and September as temperatures reach extreme highs.
For monthly weather statistics please see here.
Please contact us for more specific weather and sun path information.
Costs. By world standards Morocco is a very cost competitive place to shoot.
Talent is non-union and buyouts are negotiable. Day rates are
very reasonable and negotiated on a personal basis.
Moroccans are of Berber or mixed Arab-Berber decent. Morocco's relatively close
proximity to major European production centres allows easy access
to those pools of talent should you ever need to look further.
Talent agencies exist in Casablanca. Extras also to be found through Extras Chaperones in Marrakech and Ouarzazate.
Creative talent. Morocco has no pool of local directors, directors of photography and stills photographers. Its relatively close proximity to 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 are also non-union. It's recommended to bring in your key crew from abroad.
Fringes. Crew fringes are at 10% - 15%.
Premiums. Morocco has a twelve hour working day. Anything over that is worked out on a case by case basis. Typically our producer would package a rate that is fair for all. Sunday, holidays and night rates are also negotiated with crews. No sensible augmentation.
Equipment is quite basic and limited. There is no local Arri or Panavision supplier. We fly in camera mounts like wescam/gyron/nose mounts. Photosonics 4e, Arriflex 235, Arricam lite, Aaton 35mm are also flown in from Italy and/or Spain. Some latest light and grip equipment is also brought in from abroad.
Art department and set construction is very good and up to 50% less expensive than standard European rates.
Studios Atlas Studio in Ouarzazate and Studio Cinetelema in Casablanca, the former being the better.
Backlots. At present no backlots exist in Morocco.
Tax Incentives. At present there are no tax incentives for commercials in Morocco. There are incentives for feature films.
Film Stock. Both Fuji and Kodak are not available locally and need to be brought in from abroad.
Post Production. There are labs in Morocco however we recommend that you do post abroad.
Visas and Work Permits. Contact your local Moroccan embassy / representative for more information.
Transportation Infrastructure. Morocco is well serviced by Royal Air Maroc with airports across the country and all major towns connected by a network of highways. International flights are covered by many major airlines and low cost airlines such as Ryan Air.
Accommodation. Recommended Marrakech hotels include:
Kasbah Tamadot
Hotel La Renaissance
Palais Rhoul
Ksar Char-Bagh
Please contact us for corporate rates.
For longer stays we can also organize serviced apartments.
Communication. Web posted casting, scouting and videoconferencing.
Safety. On the whole Morocco is a safe place to shoot. While accommodating in a desert camp area, safety by local gendarmerie and/or military is requested.
Projects. For an example of TV commercials, online advertising, corporate videos, stills campaigns, feature films, TV series and documentaries shot in Morocco, 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 Morocco, please contact us.
We are able to provide you with answers, references and bids quickly.
