Director reveals Egypt missed out on 'Moon Knight' because of permits
Egyptian director Mohamed Diab, the first Arab to direct a Marvel production, has criticized his country’s bureaucracy and intervention by multiple authorities in obtaining licenses to film international productions on Egyptian soil.
CAIRO — Egyptian film director Mohamed Diab, the first Arab to direct a Marvel production, revealed that the series “Moon Knight” was to be filmed in Egypt, but due to the difficulty of obtaining permits, the shooting was moved to Hungary.
As a result, Egypt lost out on the money that would have been spent during the shooting, in addition to the free promotion for tourism in the country.
In an interview with the Egyptian website Fil Fan on March 20, Diab said that “approximately 3 billion Egyptian pounds ($165 million) were spent in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, during the filming.”
He said it bothers him to see “productions whose events take place in Egypt filmed in other countries.” He noted that “some of the films shot outside Egypt do not show the real Egypt, as they are only interested in showing the pyramids and the desert as if Egypt were an old, backward country.”
