Morocco saw a six-fold increase in the amount of money foreign film companies spent in the country to make movies, the head of the film commission said Saturday.
On the final day of the National Film Festival in Tangiers, Sarim Fassi-Fihri said that 38 foreign productions had spent a record $120 million in 2014.
The figure is more than the last five years put together. Foreign film companies spent only $22 million in 2013.
Fassi-Fihri attributed the increase to the presence of experienced film crews and stable politics.
"For the Middle East region, we are practically the only one that can guarantee peace and stability," he said, explaining that film companies are avoiding the rest of the region.
Morocco's largest filming operation in 2014 was "Mission: Impossible 5," which at one point closed a major highway between Marrakech and Agadir for weeks during the shoot. The next biggest was NBC's 12-episode biblical series "A.D. The Bible Continues."
Morocco's mountains and deserts have frequently been used as backdrops for modern Middle East thrillers and biblical epics.
Scenes for "American Sniper" and "Spectre," the next James Bond film, were also filmed in Morocco.
Canada orders TikTok’s Canadian business to be dissolved but won’t block app
Canada announced Wednesday it won't block access to the popular video-sharing app TikTok but is ordering the dissolution of its Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind it.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said it is meant to address risks related to ByteDance Ltd.'s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
"The government is not blocking Canadians' access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content. The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice," Champagne said.
Champagne said it is important for Canadians to adopt good cybersecurity practices, including protecting their personal information.
He said the dissolution order was made in accordance with the Investment Canada Act, which allows for the review of foreign investments that may harm Canada's national security. He said the decision was based on information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada's security and intelligence community and other government partners.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of local jobs.
"We will challenge this order in court," the spokesperson said. "The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive."
TikTok is wildly popular with young people, but its Chinese ownership has raised fears that Beijing could use it to collect data on Western users or push pro-China narratives and misinformation. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020.
TikTok faces intensifying scrutiny... Read More