Kasbah Films to Shoot Nicolas Cage ‘Lords of War’ in Morocco
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Alaina
- . December 5, 2023
- . Update: December 5, 2023 10:48 am
Kasbah Films is set to film the Lords of War sequel to Lord of War, which had Nicolas Cage in the lead role, in Morocco in March 2024 for approximately 40 days. Producer Karim Debbagh said the team is currently scouting locations across the kingdom.
He revealed that the sequel will benefit Morocco’s local tax rebate incentive, upped to 30 percent a year ago. “The current scheme no longer caps the rebate to €1.8 million per film and instead has an annual cap of €10 million in rebates for all foreign shoots.” Debbagh believes the new system means that its first come, first served.
“Lords of War, for instance, will send about €7 million of eligible expenses in Morocco, and will get a rebate of roughly €2 million which means there will be only €8 million left for all other international productions shooting in the country.”
Morocco Has it All
The veteran producer said they are trying to cover four to five African countries, such as Libya, Egypt, Senegal and Mali, and several other countries in the Middle East. “We’ve almost found everything in Morocco. Casablanca itself is so diverse, that you find areas that look like Senegal and others that are very luxurious like a California neighborhood, and if you’re looking for places that look similar to Libya, Yemen or Syria, you can find them in and around Marrakech.”
Debbagh said the crew of Lords of War will comprise up to 500 members. “The crew members in Morocco have become so well trained in recent years thanks to all the big movies that have come here to film and also the great schools that have opened and helped bolster this younger generation.”
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Debbagh also has a thriller Wolfmother in the pipeline. This film will be directed by Ismael El Iraki. He believes there is a new wave of Moroccan cinema and directors, very ambitious, trying new news. “We’ve seen in recent years that the presence of Moroccan movies at Cannes and other top festivals is stronger than ever before.”
The highlights are Sofia Alaoui’s Sundance movie Animalia and Faouzi Bensaidi’s Deserts. Furthermore, international co-producers are inclined towards Moroccan films.
