The Dakhla Film Commission has recently been created, with the aim of contributing to the promotion of Dakhla as a new film destination for foreign and national productions.
Managed by professionals and national experts in the field of cinema, this commission plays an important role for the city on the socio-economic level, says a statement released by the ‘Dakhla Film Commission’.
In this context, it aims to foster the creation of new job opportunities, in addition to contributing to the promotion of the Kingdom’s cultural and tourist image and, especially, Dakhla’s destination, the same source adds.
The Dakhla Film Commission also aspires to consolidate the position of the region as an international pole of the film industry at the African level, notes the statement.
Very versatile, it will be responsible for developing the national film infrastructure, providing producers with appropriate facilities and services at competitive prices, an promoting the development of the film sector through the establishment of an appropriate regulatory environment.
It will also seek to increase the participation of Moroccan cinema in international events and create mutual interconnections between Moroccan professionals and foreign production companies, to establish a list of international film ambassadors, and to invite more international directors and producers to come and discover Dakhla.
In addition to fostering strategic initiatives in the field of film training, the Dakhla Film Commission also assists in setting up awareness programs related to the usefulness of cinema, promoting film careers, acquiring and developing talent, and encouraging cooperation-production.
The statement further notes that in order to help the commission fulfill all its objectives, an English-language website has been launched: WWW.DAKHLAFILMCOMMISSION.ORG.
The Dakhla Film Commission is chaired by film producer and distributor Asma Graimiche. Among the members of the Commission are the producer Karim Dabbagh (vice-president) and the director Jérôme Cohen Olivar (member).
Among the ambassadors are the famous Moroccan-American director Sana Hamri, but also the international film producer Marcus Loges, the American producer Patrick Newall, the German director and producer Michael Dreher and the German director and producer Frider Schlaich.
Speaking about the reasons for the choice of the city of Dakhla, Ms. Graimiche said that the Dakhla peninsula is a real national treasure that contains incredible natural human resources, adding that this region is “home to vast stretches of desert land, in addition to a hundred kilometers of deserted beaches that stretch from north to south, along the Atlantic Ocean.”
“Benefiting from an additional hour and a half of sunshine per day compared to other cities in the Kingdom, the Dakhla peninsula has a logistical base that meets all the needs of film productions, in addition to an airport and hotel infrastructure and logistics of the first rank,” she added.
“All these important assets qualify it to occupy an advanced film position both nationally and internationally,” Graimiche further noted, stressing that “the Commission will focus on developing an action plan to promote the film industry at the regional level and attract more foreign producers to the region.”
The President of the Commission finally concluded that “the cinema is not only an industry and an art, but it also represents a significant opportunity for the promotion of employment and socio-economic development.”
For his part, Karim Dabbagh, Vice President of the commission, recalled the content of his commitment to work hand in hand with the rest of the team to make the city of Dakhla “a new film destination that will attract the largest international film productions.”
Dabbagh also said that “the city of Dakhla offers a unique, diverse and natural setting, which pushes us to multiply our efforts to promote this incredible city and make it an artistic and cultural destination.”
At this very moment in Dakhla, and in parallel with the creation of the “Dakhla Film Commission”, are taking place the shooting scenes of the second season of the American futuristic fantasy series “The wheel of time”.
This series is based on the novel by James Oliver Rigney. It stars Rosamund Pike, as well as an array of renowned actors such as Madeleine Madden, Danielle Henney, Michael McCleahton, Álvaro Morte, Sophie Oconedo, Kate Fleetwood, Claire Perkins, and Peter Franzen.
The production of this work is provided by “Amazon Prime production” and “Sony Pictures Entertainment”, under the executive production in Morocco of producer Karim Dabbagh.
For its part, the directing team is headed by the Moroccan-American Sana Hamri. Note that this series, which has a strong audience worldwide, is considered one of the most important current productions in the world.
