Written by on Jan 16, 2015. Posted in On Location

British Council in new deal to help boost location filming in Jordan

The British Council has signed an agreement with the Royal Film Commission Jordan to help boost the Middle Eastern country’s production industry. Jordan has recently hosted Zero Dark Thirty, Monsters: Dark Continent and Jon Stewart’s Rosewater.

Under the terms of the deal the British Council will help Jordanian filmmakers develop their skills and to screen more international movies in Jordan. The plan is to eventually develop a co-production agreement between Jordan and the UK.

“The Royal Film Commission is recognised by the British Council and the UK film industry as an outstanding organisation and centre of excellence in the Arab World and we are confident our collaboration will go from strength to strength in the future,” said Robin Rickard, Director of the British Council Jordan.

Added George David, head of Royal Film Commission Jordan: “Cinema is multi-faceted and we highly commend the support of the British Council in each one of these aspects, including awareness, training and production. The British Council is a key partner that exposes us to the production of the world-famous British cinema.”

Jordan has hosted high-profile shoots like Kathryn Bigelow’s terrorism drama Zero Dark Thirty (above) – which built a replica of Osama Bin Laden’s Pakistan compound near the Dead Sea – but the country’s recent appeal has waned for larger international shoots.

The country lacks a formal filming incentive and some producers have had to relocate planned Jordanian shoots because of the unstable security situations in neighbouring Israel, Syria and Iraq.

Further co-operation between the British Council and the Royal Film Commission Jordan could help boost the country’s profile and skill set.

(Image: Jonathan Olley / Columbia Pictures)

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