What wecarry

Yes. Foreign productions cannot apply for a filming permit in Morocco directly — the application must be filed by a Moroccan production services company accredited by the Centre Cinématographique Marocain (CCM). Mahal Productions holds that accreditation and files on your behalf, which is also what makes your shoot eligible for the cash rebate.

A CCM-accredited Moroccan company submits the application to the Centre Cinématographique Marocain with the script or treatment, the shooting schedule, the crew and cast list, and the locations requested. Allow roughly three to four weeks before the first shoot day; sensitive locations, military or government sites, and drone work need longer and separate clearances.

Morocco returns up to 30% of qualifying spend incurred inside the country, paid as cash rather than as a credit against tax. It applies to feature film, television, documentary, commercial and still photography. The application is made through the Centre Cinématographique Marocain and must be supported by evidence of local spend, which we prepare and carry alongside the shoot.

Camera, grip and lighting packages enter Morocco under an ATA Carnet or a temporary import authorisation, both of which must be arranged before the gear travels. We handle carnet management and customs clearance at the port or airport, and we clear daily rushes and drives leaving the country at the end of the shoot.

Drone filming in Morocco requires a specific aerial clearance in addition to the general shooting permit, and drones are held at customs on entry without it. The clearance is issued after review by the relevant authorities and takes longer than a standard permit, so it should be requested as early as possible in prep.

Morocco offers Sahara dunes at Merzouga, the standing sets and studios of Ouarzazate, the UNESCO ksar of Aït Benhaddou, the medinas of Marrakech and Fez, the High Atlas mountains and gorges, the Atlantic coast at Essaouira and Agadir, and contemporary city architecture in Casablanca and Rabat — most of it within a day of each other by road.

A production services company is the local arm of your production: it secures permits and government authorisations, clears equipment through customs, scouts and books locations, hires crew and heads of department, casts local talent and extras, sources camera, grip and lighting, and runs accommodation, transport and catering for the unit. In Morocco it is also the legal entity through which the shoot is registered and rebated.

Moroccan crews commonly work in French, Arabic and English, and many technicians also work in Spanish or Italian. Heads of department on international productions are used to English-language sets, and we assign crew by the languages a given production actually needs.

Autumn and spring — roughly September to November and March to May — give the most usable light and workable temperatures across desert, mountain and city. Summer in the Sahara and the south regularly passes 45°C, which shortens shooting days, and the High Atlas passes can close to snow in mid-winter.

Six to eight weeks is comfortable for a commercial, and three months or more for a feature or a series. The fixed constraints are permit lead time, carnet preparation before equipment ships, and crew availability during the peak autumn and spring windows. Short-notice shoots are possible, but the permit calendar is the limit, not the crew.