In Morocco, 894 filming authorisations were issued during 2018. This figure was announced in a press release from the Ministry of Culture and Communication on December 31st. The authorisations were for foreign television channels as well as Moroccan and international film productions.
Morocco is particularly attractive for any international production which needs desert and urban settings. For filming purposes Moroccan landscapes can resemble places of conflict in the Middle East. For example, the Netflix mini-series The Spy is set in Damascus, while the British series Baghdad Central is set in the Iraqi capital – yet both were filmed in Morocco. Hollywood stars such as Halle Berry, Robert Pattinson, Keanu Reeves, and Johnny Depp have all worked in Morocco, shooting blockbusters but also films with lower budgets.
The Ministry of Culture and Communication also reported increasing accreditation for foreign journalists. Indeed, 86 correspondents benefited from this in 2018. It’s a development which, as the Ministry explained, is “in harmony with the constitutional provisions guaranteeing the freedom of the press and information, and is part of our country’s policy of opening up to various foreign media, based on indicators of press freedom and information.”
The communiqué also stated that this figure helps “confirm (…) respect for the independence of the profession of journalists and foreign correspondents, guaranteeing their free movement without restrictions and their security in various parts of the country, allowing them to obtain filming authorisations in accordance with a flexible procedure.”
Sources: https://www.medias24.com, https://lematin.ma
