The acting head of the Centre Cinématographique Marocain (CCM), Khalid Saidi, announced that foreign productions filming in Morocco are generating a record turnover.
According to Mr. Saidi, the estimated income for this year exceeds one billion dirhams (around €93 million) against 211 million dirhams in 2020. Filming was stopped during the pandemic and borders closed – but all that seems very distant now. The turnover announced for 2022 will be at least 25% higher than the 800 million reached in 2019. A sum then considered an achievement.
Morocco’s sudden attraction for foreign productions is linked to new tax policies put in place by the Moroccan executive. In March the Government Council modified the amount of financial support available for foreign productions filming in the country. As mentioned in a previous article, it went from 20% to 30% of budget.
According to Medias 24, this modification gave Morocco an important advantage for foreign productions. There are also equipment facilities and technical assistance available in the country, while Mr. Saidi claims the kingdom’s weather is another essential part of the attraction – a major asset compared to other countries which may offer greater financial support.
Among the productions either in progress or scheduled are several big budget projects contributing to this economic rebound. Netflix has invested 190 million dirhams for the feature film Lonely Planet and the series Lioness. Steven Spielberg’s new film will also invest 300 million dirhams. Khalid Saidi says “originally the director was only going to shoot here for a few days, but because of the good conditions offered by Morocco he decided to make most of his film here.” As well as the blockbusters there are commercials, institutional films and documentaries all helping this year’s record increase in turnover.
