A CARIBBEAN HOLLYWOOD?
Dominican Republic dreams of attracting film productions to island for economic boost
SANTO DOMINGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
In the opening scenes of a Vin Diesel action movie, troops in the Dominican Republic chase the hero through a rainforest and down a twisty mountain road.
But in real life, the government is doing all it can to welcome the Hollywood star — or anyone else who wants to produce a film in this Caribbean country.
The filming here of some scenes from xXx: Return of Xander Cage is a sign of progress in efforts to persuade the film industry to use the Dominican Republic’s lush mountains, white-sand beaches and colonial architecture as a backdrop.
“Now, we are on the map,” said Yvette Marichal, director of a government agency created in 2010 to woo film production companies and to regulate their activities.
Marichal spoke in a recent interview after returning from the Cannes Film Festival, where her agency had a pavilion promoting the country’s varied landscape along with tax breaks and other incentives.
Besides the Vin Diesel action flick, the country’s film credits have grown to include last year’s Netflix production True Memoirs of an International Assassin, as well as 47 Metres Down, which stars Mandy Moore.
There are small-screen offerings as well, including the Turkish version of the competition series Survivor, which moved from the Philippines, as well as the Greek version of the same program, which is moving from Argentina’s Patagonian region, and a Swedish production of The Bachelor.
All or part of 45 foreign productions, including full-length movies, documentaries and reality TV shows, were filmed here last year. There were another 20 full-length movies for the domestic market, compared to three in 2010.
In the past, the country played host to some notable films. Parts of Apocalypse Now were filmed here as were scenes in Godfather II representing Cuba. In the 2006 movie adaptation of Miami Vice, the Dominican Republic stood in for Haiti. Those occasional productions inspired former president Leonel Fernandez, who was looking for ways to diversify the economy and bring jobs to the country of more than 10 million.
“That bit of investment in the Dominican Republic without any type of incentives motivated the president,” said Omar de la Cruz, who served on an advisory board that helped launch a more concerted effort to attract the film industry.
In 2010, the government established tax credits for productions costing at least $500,000 and exemptions on such things as import duties for audiovisual equipment.
In addition to the incentives and marketing, universities in the Dominican Republic began offering courses to provide the technical skills that production companies could use to find the local production and technical workers they are required to hire under the law. In 2013, the prominent Vicini family opened Lantica Media, which operates what it describes as the Caribbean’s most modern studio and sound stage facilities in a partnership with Britain’s Pinewood Studios.
Marichal credits some of the success to the country’s varied landscape. “It is incredible how we have almost all ecosystems on this little island,” she said. “The only thing we lack is snow but for that we have studios.”