FILM FIXERS · SAUDI ARABIA

Landing a crew in Saudi? We handle the ground.

Full production services for international broadcasters, documentary teams, commercial production companies, feature crews, and news bureaus shooting in Saudi Arabia. Permits, locations, casting, local crew, equipment, transport, catering, translators, and a fixer-in-charge on set from the moment you land to the moment you fly out. Riyadh-based, 14 years in-market, English-first on every job.

Send your shoot brief →Talk on WhatsApp

14 years

In-market Saudi production house

English-first

Every fixer, every crew member

Permits

GCAM, MoC, GACA, site-owner clearances

Cross-city

Riyadh, Jeddah, NEOM, AlUla, Eastern Prov.

Clients

International productions we've supported (representative categories)

WHAT WE HANDLE

Everything you don't want to fly in. We're on the ground.

A foreign production landing in Saudi doesn't need to import a fixer. It needs a local production house with the permits, the crew network, the equipment relationships, and the on-set experience to make the shoot day work. That's what we do — end to end, from the pre-scout to the wrap.

/ 01

Filming permits + government liaison

GCAM (General Commission for Audiovisual Media) permits, Ministry of Culture approvals, GACA aerial-drone clearances, and site-owner permissions (heritage sites, government buildings, private developments, NEOM, AlUla, Diriyah). We start permit conversations the moment we see your shot list — because Saudi permit lead times are what most foreign productions under-plan.

GCAM filming permits
Ministry of Culture approvals
GACA aerial-drone permits
Site-owner + venue clearances

/ 02

Location scouting + recce

Location scouts run by producers who know Riyadh, Jeddah, the Eastern Province, NEOM, AlUla, and the Empty Quarter. Photo scouts + video recce reels + logistics assessment for each shortlisted location — access, power, cellular signal, permit-status flags — delivered in one recce pack for your director to select from.

Photo + video recce reels
Location shortlists per shot
Logistics + access assessment
Backup locations for permit fallbacks

/ 03

Local crew booking

Camera assistants, focus pullers, gaffers, sound recordists, grips, DITs, PAs, production drivers — all sourced from our own crew network built over 14 years of Saudi production. Vetted, English-speaking, and used to working alongside foreign directors of photography and directors.

Focus pullers, gaffers, grips
Sound recordists (Arabic + English)
DIT + data-wrangler support
PAs, drivers, on-set runners

/ 04

Casting + local talent

Saudi cast for documentaries, TVCs, and features — professional actors, real-people casting, expert interviewees, and cultural consultants. Casting sessions run in-house with tapes delivered for your director to review before the shoot day.

Professional acting casting
Real-people + interview casting
Expert + interviewee sourcing
Cultural consultants on set

/ 05

Equipment rental + coordination

Cinema cameras, lenses, lighting, sound, grip, and specialised rigs — sourced from our own inventory and Riyadh's rental houses. We coordinate the equipment pull, transport, and returns so your DP walks onto set on day one with the kit ready.

Cinema cameras + lens packages
Lighting + grip packages
Sound + wireless rigs
Specialised rigs (motion-control, aerial)

/ 06

Transport, catering + on-set fixing

Airport pickup, unit transport, crew catering, hotel booking, and a fixer-in-charge on set for every shoot day. The job of the on-set fixer is that your foreign crew never has to solve a Saudi-specific problem on the shoot day — the fixer solves it.

Airport + unit transport
Crew catering (all dietary requirements)
Hotel booking + concierge
On-set fixer-in-charge every day

WHY DARB

Why international producers brief Darb for Saudi shoots.

Three reasons foreign broadcasters and production companies retain a local house that also produces its own work — not a fixer-only agency.

/ 01

A working production house, not a middleman

Fixer-only agencies subcontract everything and take a margin on each layer. We produce our own work every week — same crew, same equipment, same permit relationships you'll use. The rates you get are our own operating rates plus a fair coordination fee, not a stacked reseller markup.

/ 02

English-first on set, Arabic-fluent behind it

Every producer, PA, and fixer on our roster is English-fluent — because international shoots don't happen otherwise. But every one of them is also Arabic-native, which is what makes government liaison, site-owner conversations, and cultural interviews actually work. Two languages, one team.

/ 03

Permit lead-time we've earned

Saudi filming permits move at the speed of the relationships behind them. GCAM, MoC, GACA, heritage-site owners, NEOM, AlUla — we've been submitting into these approval systems since 2012. Requests routed through us clear faster because the people on the other side know who we are.

WHO WE FIX FOR

Every foreign crew landing on a Saudi shoot.

Whichever production type — the fixer service is the same, only the location profile and the crew size scale with the shoot.

International broadcasters + documentary teams

BBC-style factual crews, streaming-platform documentary teams, and international news bureaus filming stories in Saudi — cultural, business, sport, transformation. Permits, locations, translators, expert interviewees, and full ground production.

Global commercial production companies

TVC production companies shooting a spot in Saudi for a regional or global campaign — client wants an authentic Saudi setting, agency wants a smooth shoot, production wants a local house that knows the territory. That's us.

Feature film + episodic television

Feature crews and episodic production teams shooting inside Saudi under Ministry of Culture and GCAM production frameworks. Location, crew, unit-move logistics, and studio-facility coordination across NEOM, AlUla, and Riyadh.

Corporate + brand documentary teams

International brand teams producing corporate documentaries or brand films about their Saudi operations — energy, mining, hospitality, technology, banking, sports. Full ground production, executive-interview coordination, facility filming.

Sports + live-event broadcast crews

International sports broadcast crews covering Saudi tournaments, motorsport events, football, boxing, and entertainment programming. Local crew supplementation, permit facilitation, and venue liaison.

News bureaus + press pool coverage

International press crews covering events, summits, and news stories in Saudi. Rapid mobilisation, GCAM press facilitation, translator support, and safe-city logistics.

HOW IT WORKS

From the moment you brief to the moment you fly out.

Fixing an international shoot works when the ground production is planned like a real shoot, not a checklist. Here's what happens when you engage us.

/ 01

Brief + scope call

60-minute call to lock the shoot dates, locations, crew size, equipment brief, and permit-sensitive shots. We come back within 48 hours with a fixed-quote proposal covering permits, locations, crew, equipment, transport, catering, and on-set fixing.

/ 02

Permit submissions

Permit applications submitted the moment the proposal is signed. GCAM, MoC, GACA, and site-owner submissions run in parallel. Weekly progress report shared with your production manager so you know exactly where each approval sits.

/ 03

Recce + location lock

Photo + video recce delivered inside 7-10 days. Your director selects from the shortlist; we lock the final locations and negotiate any per-location fees. Backup locations kept on standby for permit-related fallbacks.

/ 04

Crew + equipment lock

Local crew booked to your DP's spec. Equipment packages pulled and tested. Casting delivered as tapes for your director to select. Everything locked one week before the shoot lands so the ground production is stable when your team arrives.

/ 05

Shoot days

Airport pickup on arrival. Fixer-in-charge on set every day — the person your director and production manager talk to about anything Saudi-specific. Daily crew catering, transport, and unit-move logistics all handled without your PM chasing.

/ 06

Wrap + demob

Wrap party if you want one. Equipment returns. Local crew wrapped and paid. Final invoice reconciled against the fixed quote — no shoot-day surprise line items. Your team flies out, we handle the rest.

BEFORE YOU BRIEF

Fixer service questions answered.

How much lead time do you need for a Saudi shoot?

For standard commercial and documentary shoots: 3-4 weeks from brief to shoot lands is the safe planning window. Faster is possible for locations that don't need heavy permitting (private venues, urban Riyadh, some Jeddah sites) — 7-10 days if the shoot is small. Government sites, heritage locations, NEOM, and AlUla need 4-8 weeks of permit runway. Aerial (drone) permits sit on their own GACA timeline — plan 3+ weeks.

Can you handle NEOM, AlUla, and Diriyah shoots?

Yes. These are permit-heavy locations with dedicated production authorities (NEOM Media, Royal Commission for AlUla, Diriyah Gate Development Authority). We work with each authority's production office directly. Their approvals take longer than standard GCAM permits, but they're achievable when a Saudi production company with a track record submits.

What does a typical fixer package cost?

Depends on shoot days, crew size, location count, and equipment scope. A 3-day commercial fixer package for a small foreign crew in Riyadh with standard permits sits at the entry end. Multi-day feature or documentary fixer packages across multiple cities with permits at NEOM or AlUla and a larger local crew scale from there. We give you a fixed quote at brief — no shoot-day surprise line items.

Do you provide local crew, or should we import our own?

Both models work; hybrid is most common. Foreign productions typically bring their director, DP, sound recordist, and 1-2 key creatives; we provide the rest — focus puller, gaffer, grip, DIT, PAs, drivers, and translator-fixer. This blend keeps your creative signature intact while keeping the local knowledge on set where it matters.

Are there restrictions on what can be filmed in Saudi?

Yes, and they're worth knowing before the shoot lands. Filming inside mosques and religious sites is restricted; filming people (especially women) requires signed personal permissions; some government and defence sites are hard-off-limits; drone flights have strict no-fly geofences around aviation and government facilities. Our permit process addresses these at scope-lock — before you fly a crew here for a shot that can't legally happen.

Do you handle press-crew fixing for news coverage?

Yes. News-bureau and press fixing is a distinct service — faster mobilisation, GCAM press-accreditation facilitation, real-time logistics, and safe-city knowledge. We've fixed for international press crews covering summits, sport events, and breaking news stories. Contact us directly for press-pool rates and mobilisation timelines.

Can you handle post-production if we want to keep files in-Kingdom?

Yes. Full post — edit, colour, sound design, motion graphics — inside our Riyadh studio. Useful for productions whose commissioning framework requires files to stay in-country, or where the final delivery includes an Arabic version that's easier to produce locally than back home.

Do you handle catering for foreign crew dietary requirements?

Yes. Crew catering covers vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, halal, kosher, and allergen-specific requirements — briefed at scope-lock, confirmed one week before shoot. Halal is the default; if a specific crew member needs otherwise, we source it. Coffee runs are also on us; every foreign shoot benefits from an on-set espresso machine.

RELATED SERVICES

Other production services for shoots in Saudi Arabia.

Film Production Services — Saudi Arabia

Line Producer Services

Underwater Filming — Saudi Arabia

Aerial Drone Filming

Studio Rental — Riyadh

Post-Production Services

Landing a crew in Saudi? Send your shoot brief.

Tell us the shoot dates, the story, the locations, and your crew size. We come back within 48 hours with a fixed-quote proposal covering permits, locations, crew, equipment, transport, catering, and on-set fixing.

Send your shoot brief →Talk on WhatsApp