Tunisia
Film Locations. Despite its relatively small size, Tunisia has great geographic and climatic diversity. Saharan sand dunes, white sand beaches, oasis, salt lake, arid mountain looks, canyons, sun-bleached round houses of Jerba and Houmt Souq, stylish rural dwelling on Jerba island, Roman ruins, medina, souqs, Spanish fort, Dar Ben Abdullah Palace, football stadiums, luxury residences and hotels, metro stations, airports, troglodyte homes of Matmata where Star Wars was shot. Generally speaking the landscape of Tunisia is similar in look to Southern Spain or Greece.
The Italians and French have been shooting feature films in Tunisia since the 1970's, as a result building some film infrastructure including two impressive studio backlots - Ancient Rome (Ext & Int) and 1950's Sicily (Ext, streets, facades, places).
Tunis is the capital and main production centre. Depending on the location, we can base the production office almost anywhere in the country. To the north, the city of Tabarka (with airport, mountain, deep and green forest, sea front) to the south, the city of Tozeur (Gateway to the Sahara with airport, rocky mountain, flat arid area, salt lake, desert and dune). All these cities offers high end accommodation, good roads, hospitals, banking services.
Permits. No extraordinary restrictions or rules apply. Request is submitted to the Ministry of Culture and usually take 3 - 7 days to permit. One single permit is given for the whole project, regardless of the locations.
When to shoot? Tunisia has a Mediterranean climate in the northern area with warm summers and mild / rainy winters. Semi-arid climate in the central regions and desert climate in the far south.
For monthly weather statistics please see here.
Please contact us for more specific weather and sun path information.
Costs. On average Tunisia is quite a cost competitive place to shoot. The favorable exchange rate offers considerable savings. The need to bring in equipment and in some cases key crew and talent can add to costs. Depending on the project, Tunisia is more or less a similar price point to Morocco.
Talent is non-union and buyouts are negotiable.
Tunisia offers mainly Arab/Berber looking talent. There is also an expat community offering European and African looks suitable mainly for background roles. All other talent needs to be brought in from abroad.
No model or acting agencies exist so street casting is used to scout local talent.
Tunisia has no local pool of directors, directors of photography and stills photographers. Its 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 non-union. Tunisian crews have serviced foreign productions since the 1970's. They are skilled and experienced and most speak fluent French and English. As long as the best key crew are available it is usually not necessary to bring in key crew from abroad. It is however advised to bring in a DoP, 1st AD and specific hair / makeup.
Fringes. No hidden extras.
Premiums. Tunisia works on a ten hour shoot day. Overtime is negotiable. Our producer packages a deal that is fair to all. No night time, weekend or holiday premiums.
Equipment. No official locally based supplier. Local production companies have their own equipment and share when necessary. Only basic equipment available locally. Stock of equipment is quite small. Tunisia has one older 35mm camera, one new Super 16 camera and on RED camera. All other specialized equipment and operators are required to be brought in from abroad.
Art department and set construction is impressive in Tunisia. Local crews have built sets for films such as Indiana Jones, Star Wars and The English Patient.
Studios and backlots. Mostly small basic studios. Tunisia has two impressive studio backlots - Ancient Rome (Ext & Int) and 1950's Sicily (Ext, streets, facades, places). Please contact us for location references.
Tax Incentives. At present there are no tax incentives for foreign
commercials or films shooting in Tunisia. The VAT of 18% is refundable on all expenses for feature films. The negative is considered an export, so there are no charges of any kind to be paid through customs.
Film Stock. Both Kodak and Fuji are available locally. Local production companies import and store it safely. Best to always check local quantity with our producer before traveling.
Post Production. Processing is available locally. LTC Gammarth, a subsidiary of LTC France, is the only local lab. Best to post abroad.
Visas and Work Permits. Visiting crews are not required a work permit for Tunisia. No visa required for EU and US travelers. Entry is subject to regulations from country of origin. Contact your local Tunisian embassy or representative for more information.
Transportation Infrastructure is up to international standards. Several international and low cost airlines service Tunis regularly.
Accommodation. Recommended options in Tunis include:
Sheraton
Hotel le Consul
Les Berges du Lac
Please contact us for corporate rates.
For longer stays we can also organize serviced apartments.
Communication. Web posted scouting, casting and videoconferencing.
Safety. Tunisia is one of the safest countries in the region.
Projects. For an example of TV commercials, online advertising, corporate videos, stills campaigns, feature films, TV series and documentaries shot in Tunisia, 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 Tunisia, please contact us.
We are able to provide you with answers, references and bids quickly.
