www.lionsdailynews.com friday, june 24 , 2011

n Fernando Uriegas,
general director,
Mexico Film
Commission: “The
reason that Mexico City
is a perfect place to
shoot is due to the
richness and varieties
of locations. You can
find pre-Hispanic,
colonial and modern
buildings”
The Hong Kong FSO also encourages visiting producers
to hire the services of a local fixer for transportation, accommodation,
and casting help.
“We are very interested in attracting a lot more international
advertising to Jordan, as it provides some amazing untapped
landscapes,” Linda Mutawi, production services manager at
The Royal Film Commission-Jordan (RFC), says, adding: “Jordan
is well known for amazing hospitality and the skilled workforce
is very efficient. Also, filming in Jordan is considered very
cost effective, and has the added benefit and support that the
Film Commission offers, such as access of free publice locations,
assistance with scouting and securing locations, custom
exemptions on equipment imports, no income taxes on foreign
cast and crew, liaison officers, and help with government paperwork.”
Mutawi estimates that 30% of shoots in Jordan are for
commercials, between 20-30 per year.
A recent shoot to take advantage of this help was for Indian
telco Micro Max, produced by Curious Films for Lintas Lowe.
“Since in TVC involved lots of pyrotechnics and use of weapons,
the RFC was instrumental in importing and liaising the rental
of these materials through the army and police, as well as pro-
FILM COMMISSIONS 61
viding a police presence on set,” Mutawi says.
“Our Film Commission is pretty new,” Lucila Bortagaray,
of the Uruguay Film Commission & Promotion Office says, but
it already participates in several expos and markets to promote
locations. “Our main incentive is a VAT exemption of 22%,” she
says, along with diverse landscapes and eclectic architecture,
including “colonial style, through Art Deco up to futurist structures
such as Carrasco’s new International Airport”. The area
sees a high percentage of commercials, 110 in 2010 in Montevideo
alone.
The Mexico City Film Commission is also relatively new,
but within its two years of operation has established a presence
at events in South and Central America, the US, and Spain. Fernando
Uriegas, general director of the Mexico City Film Commission
estimates that 27% of some 1,780 shoots in the city are
commercials. “We promote Mexico City in both national and
international ways. We have been assisting at several festivals
to offer all the production services that you can find in Mexico
City. We are also developing online tools where you will be able
to find locations, production services, production companies
and all the permit information,” Uriegas says. Recent produc-
FRIDAY, JUNE 24,2011