What does the future hold for filming in Lebanon?

Despite – or perhaps because of – ongoing turbulence in the region, Lebanese government organisations are looking at ways to boost the country’s film, TV and commercials production industry.

Author: Alexandra Zeevalkink

Published: 16 Jun 2015

Ely Dagher's Short Film 'Waves 98'

Despite – or perhaps because of – ongoing turbulence in the region, Lebanese government organisations are looking at ways to boost the country’s film, TV and commercials production industry.

Lebanon has a dynamic production market, but it doesn’t offer tax rebates or incentives to foreign producers. There’s no film commission either, so the responsibility for drumming up business has fallen to producers and a few disparate bodies.

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One of these bodies is the Foundation Liban Cinéma, the de facto information centre for Lebanese cinema, which has expanded its role as a local-industry driver.

So far, several initiatives have surfaced to the table, including the possible introduction of filming incentives for international productions.

An agreement with the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL) looks set to start introducing tax incentives to support projects in production and post-production which invest a minimum of US $200,000 in the country and employ at least 25 local crew members.

When this incentive is set to move forward is as of yet unknown but it already has the backing of the Central Bank of Lebanon.

Currently the country is mainly being used for commercials shoots but if the country is to continue to compete with its competitor Jordan – which already has incentives in place – it needs to move forward fast.

To find out more about filming in Lebanon, take a look at our production guide.

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