Supported by a 30% tax credit and platforms like the Atlas Workshops, Morocco is transforming from a preferred shooting location into a source of globally competitive films and series.
The Moroccan film sector has been quietly reinventing itself, evolving from a reliable location for foreign shoots into a more ambitious industry that cultivates local stories and international partnerships. Structural changes in policy, a network of training programs and targeted market participation have combined to accelerate the country’s cinematic output. The result is a creative ecosystem that increasingly balances foreign service work with homegrown projects that can travel abroad.
Key drivers include a government incentive and festival-backed industry initiatives that together have changed both the volume and the profile of productions in Morocco. While international films continue to use Moroccan landscapes, local producers, directors and institutions are steadily professionalizing their approaches to financing, distribution and international pitching.
In 2018 Morocco introduced a production tax credit — now capped at 30% — that significantly improved the country’s attractiveness to overseas projects. Since then, the Moroccan Cinematographic Center (CCM) has actively promoted the jurisdiction as both a service destination and a partner for co-productions. In the CCM supported 23 foreign features through the incentive program, a move that catalyzed more than $165 million in local investment. These inflows help sustain crews, facilities and post-production services that also benefit domestic filmmakers.
Parallel to fiscal policy, the Marrakech film festival launched the Atlas Workshops in 2018 as an industry incubator. The program is designed to link emerging regional talent with sales agents and potential co-production partners on Moroccan soil. Over time the Atlas Workshops have expanded their remit, backing over 150 projects and elevating filmmakers such as Asmae El Moudir — whose hybrid documentary “The Mother of All Lies” drew significant international attention in.
Growth at the policy level has been matched by investments in human capital. Film schools and vocational programs are scaling up, while initiatives like the Tamayouz Foundation focus on entry-level training and mentorship for women across directing, writing, production and post-production. Since its founding in 2018, Tamayouz has supported roughly 100 filmmakers through residencies and workshops, helping launch careers and feature projects.
Producers in Morocco are increasingly adopting the creative producer role — shaping scripts, financing strategies and distribution plans rather than solely administering budgets. This shift is important in a market where budgets are often limited and co-productions require sophisticated packaging to attract European and international investors. Programs that bring producers to markets such as Venice and the European Film Market expose them to how global financing really works and help build necessary networks.
High-profile foreign shoots — ranging from art-house pieces like Oliver Laxe’s “Sirāt” to large-scale studio films such as Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” — have showcased Morocco’s landscapes and technical capacity. At the same time, Moroccan-made content is expanding in ambition and scope. Last year the domestic industry delivered 54 films, a marked increase from the low single digits at the turn of the millennium, and local projects are targeting international festivals and markets more consistently.
Series development is also changing local workflows. The police procedural “K-1”, selected for the Berlinale Series Market, was conceived to meet international standards by introducing the showrunner model into Moroccan production, with episodic direction delegated to established feature filmmakers to ensure cinematic quality across episodes. This hybrid approach demonstrates how Moroccan creators are adapting global production models to local talent.
To translate ambition into deals, institutional support is targeting market visibility. The CCM selected 10 producers from over 75 applicants to attend the Berlin market, emphasizing gender parity and projects with international potential. Events at the European Film Market include promo screenings of high-potential titles such as Laila Marrakchi’s “Strawberries”, a recent Atlas Workshops post-production prize winner poised for wider attention.
Leaders across the sector emphasize that the goal is to “internationalize the production process, but not the stories”: to retain authentic narratives while utilizing global financing, distribution and creative collaboration. The challenge remains scaling Moroccan films so that a steady stream — not just occasional successes — can reach international platforms.
Institutions and individuals are aligned around a common agenda: expand technical facilities, increase training in VFX and post-production, and foster producers who can compete internationally. Educational institutions such as ESAV are growing their curricula to include specialized tracks and to absorb both local and international students. As capacity expands, Morocco aims to become a full-service production and post-production hub while continuing to export distinctive stories.
The transformation is less about replacing foreign shoots and more about creating parity: Morocco can host blockbuster location work and simultaneously originate films and series that travel. With incentives, workshops and an emerging class of creative producers, the country is positioning itself as a collaborator on the global stage rather than merely a backdrop.