2020 is expected to see more original content produced than in the entire decade of the 1990’s. Counting down, here are our 10 countries to film in 2020…
10. Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is opening up to global productions. Travel and permitting rules have been made easier and a generous 35% cash rebate is in the works. Given that everyone is filming everywhere, new “ancient” film locations are rare to come by. One film location of note is Mada’in Saleh, a stone-cut structure comparable to Jordan’s Petra. Go film before everyone else does.
9. Vanuatu
Rarely visited by global productions, the archipelago is famous for its South Pacific paradise turquoise blue waters, white sand beaches, tropical rainforest, and waterfalls. Vanuatu is home to one of the world’s accessible continuously active volcanos. The nation recently banned all single-use plastics. Support Vanuatu’s green efforts. Go film there.
8. eSwatini (Swaziland)
One of the smallest countries in Africa, eSwatini is a place of undiscovered cultural and natural beauty. Africa’s best crews and equipment are based a short 4hr drive away in Johannesburg. eSwatini’s currency is pegged to the South African Rand, which remains very weak against the US dollar.
7. Trinidad and Tobago
Unlike much of the Caribbean, Trinidad does not rely on resort tourism. As such, it offers visiting productions a unique picture of authentic island life. The island of Tobago is known for its natural beauty. Trinidad and Tobago offer a generous rebate of up to 55% for expenditures on qualifying local labour and 35% on other local expenditures.
6. Georgia
The nation of Georgia is known for the Caucasus Mountains, Black Sea coastline, ancient Orthodox mountain churches, Soviet-era architecture, and impressive wineries. Georgia is open for business with a 20-25% tax rebate on offer for qualifying productions.
5. Chile
Given that Chile is as long as the US is wide, the country offers an impressive variety of film locations ranging from deserts to old-growth forests, snow-capped mountains to rugged coastline, Spanish colonial looks to modern city buildings. Local crews are excellent. Specialised equipment is available locally. On average Chile is less expensive to film in than Brazil or Argentina. Visiting productions may also qualify for a 25-30% cash rebate.
4. Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is opening up to the world. The country is known for its magnificent exotic ancient silk road locations. Uzbekistan offers a 20% tax rebate for qualifying productions.
3. Cyprus
Cyprus is a small country with a diversity of undiscovered beautiful film locations in close proximity to each other. It is also a short flight from major European production centres should you need those resources. A 35% cash rebate has helped attract productions such as Jiu Jitsu (2020). More visiting productions are expected to follow.
2. Canary Islands
Luxury villas, beaches, volcanic peaks, sand dunes, desert roads, pine wood forests, waterfalls, lighthouses, and underwater photography options. The Canary Islands offer a generous tax rebate of up to 50% on qualifying production spend.
1. Japan
As hosts of the 2020 Summer Olympics, expect to see visiting productions from all over the world flocking to Japan before and during the event.
Global Production Support & Camera Crews
Feel free to contact us if you are planning to film in any of these countries and are looking for locally based production service support including producers and fixers. We are also able to refer directors, DP’s, videographers, VR 360 shooters, and photographers if you are looking to hire locally.
