Fast & Furious 7 begins filming in Abu Dhabi

Filming for the Hollywood movie Fast & Furious 7 has started in the UAE, the Abu Dhabi Film Commission (ADFC) and Universal Pictures has confirmed.

Abu Dhabi's twofour54 intaj, the film and television services arm of twofour54, said it will act as the local producer of the highly anticipated seventh edition of the global franchise built on speed.

Due to be released in August 2014, Fast & Furious 7 is the latest major Hollywood production to be filmed in Abu Dhabi.

The Abu Dhabi scenes will be captured firstly in early November, when the film’s visual effects unit secures helicopter shots, stunt footage and a variety of visual effects work, a statement said.

In January 2014, approximately 80 to 120 cast and crew, including star actors Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, join for scenes at some of Abu Dhabi’s iconic landmarks, it added.

Noura Al Kaabi, chief executive, twofour54, said: “Following the enormous success of Fast & Furious 6, it’s great that Abu Dhabi has been selected for this latest film, not just because this will be the biggest movie to be shot in Abu Dhabi to date, generating substantial international media exposure for the Emirate.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for Abu Dhabi’s growing film talent to acquire new skills.”

He added: “By encouraging regional and international productions to shoot in the UAE, we are facilitating the development of a sustainable local film industry, making a large net contribution to both the economy and cultural life.”

ADFC offers Hollywood producers a 30 percent rebate on spending in the UAE in a bid to lure them to the emirate.

In a study, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) estimated that for every AED1 invested in the production rebate programme, AED4.5 of GDP will be generated within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

PwC expects the total economic impact of the rebate programme in 2014 to be AED82m.

Other recent beneficiaries of ADFC’s production rebate include Screen Gems’ and Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ paranormal thriller Beware the Night which shot in Abu Dhabi in July; the Syrian production company Al Mohra from the Arabic drama series Hammam Shami, the first ever studio-based Syrian production of this scale to be filmed in Abu Dhabi, and Clacket Production, which used twofour54’s colour grading suite for the post-production of regional drama series called Wilada Men Al Khasira and Sanaood Baaed Qaleel.