Morocco has started building a new film city in Ouarzazate as it looks to keep more international movie productions and create more jobs in the country’s film industry. Youth, Culture and Communication Minister Mohamed Mehdi Bensaïd launched the 240 million dirham ($24 million) project.
The Ouarzazate International Film City will be built on a 10.49-hectare site and is designed to bring every stage of filmmaking together in one place.
It will include a 3,000-square-metre sound stage, post-production facilities, training centres, creative technology spaces, and services for film crews and visitors.
The project aims to fix one of Morocco’s biggest weaknesses in the film business.
Many international films are shot in Ouarzazate because of its desert landscapes, historic sites and lower production costs. But once filming ends, producers often take editing, visual effects, colour grading and sound work to countries such as Britain, France or the United States because Morocco does not have enough certified post-production facilities.
The government hopes the new Film City will keep more of that work and investment inside Morocco.
Bensaïd said the project would not compete with private studios already based in Ouarzazate. Instead, it would add services that are currently missing.
Ouarzazate has been one of the world’s best-known filming locations for decades. Atlas Studios, which opened in 1983, and CLA Studios, which opened in 2004, have hosted productions including Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, The Mummy, Babel and scenes from Game of Thrones filmed at Aït Ben Haddou.
The project also ends months of speculation that it could be moved to the outskirts of Rabat. The ministry said those reports confused the Film City with a separate private investment project.
The government has not yet said when construction will finish or named the partners involved in the project.
The Film City builds on Morocco’s efforts to attract more foreign productions. Since 2022, the country has offered a 30% cash rebate to international productions that spend at least 10 million dirhams in Morocco and create at least 18 days of work.
According to the Moroccan Cinematographic Centre, foreign film investment grew from around 800 million dirhams in 2019 to nearly one billion dirhams in 2022 before rising to more than 1.14 billion dirhams in later production cycles.
Industry estimates suggest that every dirham paid through the rebate generates three to four dirhams of spending in the local economy through hotels, transport, catering and construction.
Recent productions filmed in Morocco include Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II and House of the Dragon, which returned to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Aït Ben Haddou.
During his visit, Bensaïd also checked restoration work at the Taourirt Kasbah and the Aït Ben Haddou kasbah, which were damaged in the 2023 Al Haouz earthquake.
The ministry said work at Aït Ben Haddou is now between 80% and 85% complete and should finish in about four months. Officials then plan to promote the site to attract visitors throughout the year.
Bensaïd said the goal was not only to restore historic buildings but also to protect and promote the region’s cultural heritage while strengthening Ouarzazate’s place as one of the world’s leading filming destinations.
