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.

Tasjeel Signs Agreement With Dubai Municipality To Test Food Transport Vehicles In Dubai

Tasjeel, the joint venture vehicle testing and registration service of Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), recently signed an agreement with Dubai Municipality to test food transport vehicles according to the health specifications and conditions set by Dubai Municipality.

Dubai Municipality used to undertake vehicle testing earlier but has now handed over the service to Tasjeel, to enhance the convenience of customers. Vehicle owners can now register their vehicles and test them too under one roof, starting from 1 May, 2009.

An estimated 10,000 vehicles will be tested per year. The testing procedures will take around 10 minutes and the approved vehicles will be given a card plus certificate.

Ayas Bin Hendi, General Manager, Tasjeel, said: “Our agreement with Dubai Municipality is a testament to the quality of services provided by us. We look forward to further collaborations and to implement other successful projects with Dubai Municipality in the future to provide the highest safety standards for residents of Dubai.”

Khalid Sharif Al Awadhi, Director of the Food Control Department in the Dubai Municipality, emphasised that food transportation is one of the most important aspects in food protection and safety. “The majority of the health problems related to food happen because of inappropriate food transportation. We have established strong relationships with Tasjeel due to their high level of professionalism and the agreement will further enhance collaboration between both parties.”

Tasjeel staff has undergone a special training approved by Dubai Municipality, to perform the new service which covers the testing of all kinds of food transport vehicles. As per the new service, food are categorised as dry, cold, frozen and hot, and stickers of different colours are placed on the food transport vehicles depending on the nature of the food.

The new service is initially available at the Tasjeel site in Al Warsan, which is in close proximity to the Fruits & Vegeatble Market as well as more accessible from other Emirates.