Dubai Studio City Smoothes Way for Paris Hilton Reality Show in Dubai

Dubai Studio City (DSC), the dedicated film production cluster and a member of TECOM Investments, announced today that it has smoothed the way for a season of Paris Hilton’s My New BFF to be shot on-location in Dubai in the coming month.

DSC facilitated the government approvals and locations approval through the Dubai Studio City’s Location Approval Services (LAS) department, as well as arranging sponsorship for show.

Viola Communications has been engaged to handle day-to-day production of the show, which is based on a format that has proven successful in both the US and the UK. In this version Paris will visit Dubai and invites potential best friends to compete in tests of loyalty, endurance and girl politics to find her perfect Best Friend Forever (BFF).

Jamal Al Sharif, Executive Director, Dubai Studio City, said: “A secure operational environment, remarkably attractive locales, incomparable logistical advantages and an expanding local talent base have made Dubai the preferred destination for film and television production.

“The decision to film the latest installment of Paris Hilton’s reality show in Dubai is a testament to our success in establishing Dubai as a preeminent and unique location for television production by facilitating the creation and development of an environment and world-class infrastructure to foster the growth of the television, film and music industries in the region.”

(LAS) department is the exclusive authority for issuing all shooting approvals in Dubai, LAS industry data collected over the past three years shows a strong and growing demand for production services., The department achieved a 33 percent growth from 2007 to 2008, receiving 1100 applications in 2008.

Mary Ghobrial, Project consultant, Viola Communications said: “TECOM Investments has been extremely supportive since the beginning of the project. The Dubai Studio City team has been instrumental in acquiring government approvals as well as the locations approval. They also greatly assisted us in finding sponsors for the programme Dubai is now a very attractive destination for the film industry.”

Spread over an area of 22 million sq ft, Dubai Studio City has 14 fully equipped sound stages, a 3.5 million sq ft back lot for outdoor shooting, commercial offices, pre-built studios, a business centre and post-production studios. The first phase of the development includes three sound stages – one 15,000 sq ft unit and two units of 25,000 sq ft each.

Dubai Emerging As Compelling Destination For Film Production And Broadcast Industries

A secure operational environment, remarkably attractive locales, incomparable logistical advantages and an expanding local talent base have made Dubai and the UAE the most preferred destination for pre- and post production activities of global television and film companies.

Probably, the most telling factor above all these is the presence of Dubai Studio City, a film and broadcast industry-dedicated free zone cluster and a member of TECOM Investments. The cluster is an all-encompassing destination that offers enabling facilities for design, visual effects and music composition in addition to pre-built studios, sound stages, training academies and a business centre.

Jamal Al Sharif, Executive Director, Dubai Studio City, said: “As a destination that offers a wide range of compelling locales for film shoots, Dubai appeared on the radar of global studios and major producers following the tremendous success of Dubai Media City – the first project in TECOM Investment’s media cluster.

“By 2005, when Dubai Studio City was launched as a logical evolution of the media sector’s growth and an additional component of the TECOM cluster, global film and broadcast industries were increasingly looking at Dubai as an alternate destination. The state-of-the-art infrastructure at the free zone especially generated substantial interest among the global filmmakers.”

DSC’S single-window Location Approval Services (LAS) department expedites and facilitates the approval process for all film shoots and photography activities in Dubai and the UAE. Providing a full bouquet of enabling services including location scouting, visa, travel, accommodation arrangements and access to talent, the LAS department achieved a 33 percent growth from 2007 to 2008.

The enabling advantages offered by Dubai and key entities such as Dubai Studio City have been strongly endorsed by some of the film and TV production companies based in the emirate.

Tim Smythe, CEO, Filmworks, says: “For over 10 years, Filmworks has serviced numerous feature films from the US, Middle East and India, including the Warner Bros. film Syriana and Universal Pictures’ The Kingdom. We have recently completed principal photography for City of Life, which is the first multi-lingual feature film to be written and directed by Emirati Ali F. Mostafa and produced with UAE funding, intended for both local and international release. City of Life allows us to showcase Emirati talent internationally and create and sustain our own home grown film industry.”

Dubai already offers a vast talent pool – both on-screen and off-screen. Through training programmes and partnerships, Dubai Studio City aims to ensure this talent pool of professionals and freelancers continues to grow steadily.

Not surprisingly, the current global economic crisis has provided more opportunities for film and broadcast production companies in the region to turn around the slump in market moods with enhanced creative solutions.

Georgina Hockley, General Manager, Bareface Production, points out: “Creativity and innovation are keys to the success of any business, especially in the creative industry during the current difficult phase that has made conditions tough for businesses all over the world.

“Moreover, economic difficulty not only demands businesses to be innovative, but also resilient and resourceful. Bare Face is one of the very first stills production companies to operate in Dubai and this gives us a number of advantages. Our solid supplier and partner network allows us room to be creative with our offerings to our clients. In addition, we also think of these ‘down times’ as times to introspect, and devise internal development plans to ensure that we will come back stronger in serving our clients once economic conditions get better.”

Underlining the fact that Dubai is by far the best equipped location with the latest technologies, talent and expertise that may somewhat still be lacking in other parts of the region, Georgina Hockley adds: “This in turn means that it remains more cost-effective than other places and also the most convenient in terms of saving clients’ time, effort and resources.”

Dubai’s efforts are already beginning to pay off. Interestingly, an increasing number of projects come from well-developed film and entertainment markets such as Egypt, India, the US and the UK. Filmmakers from other regions’ emerging industries have also shown their preference for Dubai as a location for pre- as well as post-production activities.

Ian Ross, Producer, Central Films, says: "Most of our clients make us compete against Beirut in Lebanon or Cape Town in South Africa for shooting TV commercials. While Beirut has the advantage of lower production costs and Cape Town offers more varied locations, we still win clients with our whitest-sand beaches, great sand dunes and desert, stunning mountain roads and strikingly modern skyline and city landscape. Clients especially like the very safe environment as well as the much shorter flights from Europe and the Far East."

Looking forward, Al Sharif of Dubai Studio City, elaborates: “This year has ushered in a mixed bag of challenges for the world and it is imperative that we at Dubai Studio City leverage our strengths and turn the challenges into new opportunities. However, in the current economic climate, prudence is the watchword and markets should be assessed carefully, so that every emerging opportunity is capitalized at the right time.

“In terms of talent, industry knowledge and world-class facilities, we are confident the Dubai Studio City community is well positioned to adapt to the new economic landscape that works to the overall benefit of the media in the region. We expect five-to-10 per cent growth in 2009, despite the adverse impacts of the global financial crisis as we believe the entertainment business goes on during the good and the bad times.”

Currently, companies from Europe, the US and the Far East including countries such as India, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan are the most interested in choosing Dubai as a location for their productions.

Spread over an area of 22 million sq ft, Dubai Studio City will feature 14 fully equipped sound stages, a 3.5 million sq ft backlot for outdoor shooting, commercial offices, pre-built studios, a business centre and post-production studios. The first phase of the development includes three sound stages – one 15,000 sq ft unit and two units of 25,000 sq ft each.