Sri Lanka


Film Locations. Colonial and modern architecture, heavy industry, diverse and extensive coastline, rivers and waterfalls, forests and jungles, mountains and canyons, railway tracks on mountains, tea plantations, rice paddy fields, rubber plantations, lakes, islands, beautiful beaches, deciduous forests, dramatic car roads and bridges, sea ports, stadiums and train stations.

Permits. Timing and restrictions depend on the location but most permits are easy to obtain and can be processed in a couple of days. There are no unusual restrictions but in major city centres it is advisable to shoot on the weekends for greater control of traffic. Usually five days notice is required to block streets.

When to shoot? Proximity to equator means long daylight hours throughout the year. Sri Lanka has a tropical climate with high humidity. January is the coolest month, becoming especially cold in the highlands, and May is the hottest time of the year. Monsoon season is between May and July in the western, southern and central regions, and again between December and January in the north-eastern regions. Colombo's weather stays evenly hot and humid throughout the year, with no distinct seasons apart from two rainy seasons. Heavy monsoon rains occur between May and August, and again between October and January.

For monthly weather statistics please see here.

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

Costs. Sri Lanka is one of the world's most cost efficient service centres. Locations, talent and supporting crews are very inexpensive. Additional costs are incurred in equipment and key crews needed to be brought in and travel required for jobs outside of Colombo. Even with this taken into account Sri Lanka still typically offers a better bottom line than any other countries in the region.

Talent is non-union and buyouts are negotiable. Day rates are very reasonable and negotiated on a personal basis.

Since there are no unions buyouts can very enormously. Roughly speaking, a worldwide TV / internet buyout for a lead part may cost 1,000USD for street-cast talent or 5,000USD for a professional actor or model.

Casting facilities are relatively undeveloped so street casting is often required.

Sinhalese make up the majority of the population with some Tamil, Middle Eastern, Malay and European looks also available locally.

Creative talent. Sri Lanka has a relatively limited pool of local directors, directors of photography and stills photographers.

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

Crews are also non-union. Crews speak fluent English and have some experience on international projects. Depending on the complexity of the project, you may want to get your key crew in from abroad.

Fringes. No hidden extras.

Premiums. Sri Lanka has a twelve hour working day for features and an eight hour working day for commercials. Anything over that is worked out on a case by case basis. Typically our producer would package a rate that is fair for all. There is no turnaround for commercials and no extra charges for for weekends, nights and holidays.

Equipment is basic and quite limited. Only Arri III cameras are available locally as well as a few HDV's. HMI and other industry standard lights and accessories are available. All else we bring in from Malaysia, Singapore or India. Highly specialised equipment comes from even further abroad.

Art department and set construction. Shoots in Sri Lanka tend to be location orientated but on the whole construction labour is inexpensive and the quality of craftsmaniship is good.

Studios do exist but are not Sri Lanka's strong point.

Backlots. At present no backlots exist in Sri Lanka.

Tax Incentives. At present there are no tax incentives for feature films or commercials shooting in Sri Lanka.

Film Stock. Both Fuji and Kodak are available locally.

Post Production. No post production facilities available locally. We get it done in Singapore, Hong Kong or India.

Visas and Work Permits. Directors and DoP's require work visas. Producers, agencies or client personnel can travel on tourist visas. Contact your local Sri Lankan embassy / representative for more information.

Transportation Infrastructure. Is all up to known and expected world standards. There are several international airlines that service Sri Lanka.

Accommodation. Recommended Colombo hotels include:

Colombo Hilton
Colombo Taj
Hotel Galdari

Please contact us for corporate rates.

For longer stays we can also organize serviced apartments.

Communication. Web posted casting, scouting and videoconferencing.

Safety. Since 1983, there has been on-and-off civil war in the north and east of Sri Lanka between the government and the Tamil Tigers. The recent decisive end to hostilities means that now all of Sri Lanka is safe to film in.

Projects. For an example of TV commercials, online advertising, corporate videos, stills campaigns, feature films, TV series and documentaries shot in Sri Lanka, 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 Sri Lanka, please contact us.

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