The Lauder Global Business Insight Report 2011 - Knowledge ...

owned by the emir of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum. Operating under the mission
statement of being involved with “anything and
everything to do with media,” DMC was created with the
clear aim of making Dubai the media industry hub of
the region.
Its status as a government property has not hindered
its ability to grow rapidly. To date, more than 1,300
companies from over 70 countries are registered there.
This success is rooted in DMC’s convenient location
in a cosmopolitan city and international trade hub,
its tax-free status and its multibillion dollar media
infrastructure. In addition, DMC covers the entire
media value chain — from consumer research to postproduction
services—for all companies located in this
free zone.
Recognizing the success of DMC and the opportunity
to provide more targeted offerings, Dubai Holding
launched Dubai Studio City in 2005. This city is a 22
million-square-foot production cluster with state-ofthe-art
filming and broadcasting facilities. Umran Shah,
development manager at DMC, notes that “Dubai Studio
City was created to attract film production away from
traditional Middle Eastern film production countries,
such as Morocco,” in addition to attracting lucrative
Bollywood film productions, which currently make up
the majority of films shot in Dubai. Dubai Studio City
offers offices, post-production studios, sound stages,
workshops, warehouses, and back lots. Registered
companies are also able to build their own studios and
facilities on custom-sized plots. As Dubai Studio City
executive director Jamil Al Sharif notes, “[Dubai Studio
City] will offer anything that is needed to facilitate
excellent production.” Furthermore, it was also designed
with the aim of promoting domestic film production
among the local Emirati population. These efforts have
culminated in the production of the first UAE-based
films, such as City of Life, a 2009 drama by Emirati
director Ali F. Mustafa.
Despite the rapid growth of the film industry in Dubai,
movie-making has had its share of controversy. The
National Media Council of the UAE governs all media
productions in the country. This entity, based out of
the federation’s more conservative capital, Abu Dhabi,
14 Knowledge@wharton • Lauder Global Business Insight Report 2011
ensures that any film production follows the country’s
code of conduct. With taboos surrounding religion, sex,
and politics, many Western studios have been hesitant
to bring their productions to the UAE. The most recent
example is exemplified by the decision of the Sex in the
City 2 producers to film their Abu Dhabi-based plot in
Morocco, without ever approaching the UAE’s National
Media Council.
There is also a general wariness by the Council to
green-light the filming of Western movies following
the political controversy caused by Syriana and The
Kingdom, filmed in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, respectively,
which dealt with topics such as immigration, labor
rights, and extremism in the Middle East. For example,
although Syriana was filmed in Dubai, the film was
censored before being released into the local market,
resulting in the excision of scenes that portrayed the
mistreatment of South Asian workers by local authorities
in an unnamed Gulf State, an image of the late Saudi
King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, and a reference
to the multinational construction conglomerate, the
Saudi Binladin Group. Aleem Jumaa, head of Dubai’s
censorship office, notes, “We would never allow anything
that is disrespectful to the country or the president,
causes security problems, insults religions, exhibits
immorality like nudity or promotes vices like alcohol
and drugs.”
unseating the Industry Leader
Morocco and Tunisia have long-established track records
with the film industry in the West. Both countries are
recognized as failsafe locations that have hospitable
conditions devoid of unnecessary administrative and
governmental complications. Morocco has become the
favorite location for notable directors like Ridley Scott,
who has shot a number of films there, including Black
Hawk Down, Gladiator, and Kingdom of Heaven. The
governments in Morocco and Tunisia have implemented
regulations, established councils, and allocated
significant funds to ensure that their countries remain
attractive markets for filmmakers around the world.
For decades, Morocco has received the lion’s share
of interest from foreign production firms, earning
an estimated US$50-US$70 million annually.
A combination of factors has led to Morocco’s