Permits
Municipality, forestry, antiquities, police, and civil aviation. Allow at least 5 to 6 days. We file each permit so it matches the call sheet.
Film and photo production service in Cyprus.
Crew, permits, locations, and kit for visiting productions. More than fifteen years from a Limassol base. Recent work includes About You in September 2026, and commercials and photo for Ving, Wakacje.pl, GQ Germany, and Mega Friends. A qualifying feature can apply for up to 45% cash rebate.
Cyprus Production Service handles local production for visiting film and photo crews. The company is Moi Ostrov Ltd in Limassol, and the work covers Nicosia, Larnaca, Paphos, and Ayia Napa: crew, permits, locations, and film and photo equipment rental. Recent work includes About You, Bogotá: City of the Lost, Ving, Wakacje.pl, and the GQ Germany cover. Alexander Papacosta · +357 99 164 158 · WhatsApp. Weekdays 9:00–18:00, weekends 9:00–12:00.
Locations
Coast, city, mountain, and antiquity inside a day’s move from the Limassol base.
Crew
Line producer, location manager, and local heads of department. Alegency, in the same group, handles casting. Larger productions are insured. A small equipment rental is not.
Equipment
ARRI, RED, Canon, lighting, grip, sound, Profoto, and Sunbounce, plus our own drone. Book the kit alone, or with the crew.
02 — Commercials and photo
Summer pictures, outside the northern summer.
Travel brands in northern Europe shoot summer campaigns in Cyprus when the weather at home will not do it. The island stays bright through the cooler months. Wakacje.pl shot a summer commercial here in March 2023: hotels, coast, and stills beside the camera. Commercials and photo shoots are not in the Cyprus cash rebate. The reason to come then is the light. A photo job in nature, with no road closure, can be ready in about 3 to 4 days. A television commercial with local casting takes 2 to 4 weeks.
03 — Work
Films the Cyprus unit worked on.
About You — HZL The Collection
September 2026. Romina Palm. CPS ran the production service.
Behind the scenes
Bogotá: City of the Lost. Watermelon Pictures feature. The Cyprus scenes were shot in 2021. CPS line-produced the local crew, the places, and the unit.
Ving — Falling. Swedish travel commercial. Three hotel days. CPS ran the local crew, locations, equipment, and the unit base.
Wakacje.pl. March 2023 summer commercial. Client Wakacje.pl. Agency Supermarket. Production Videlec. Hotels, coast, and a stills photographer beside the camera unit.
Ya Nour El Ein. 2018 music video with Massari, Maya Diab, and French Montana. Locations and local crew, scheduled around performances.
Mega Friends. Commercial with Bolt Productions. A night shoot in Limassol, one location, with local crew.
GQ Germany. Cover with Bar Refaeli, photographed by Stefan Imielski at Hotel Almyra in Paphos. CPS ran the photo production.
Biem LF. Two campaigns for a Chinese golf brand. Course days and stills, with local crew and club access.
GQ Germany
Biem LFBehind the scenes
04 — Equipment
Film and photo rental, confirmed against the dates.
Camera
- ARRI Alexa Mini LF
- ARRI Alexa Mini
- RED Komodo
- Canon C70
Photo
- Canon R5
- Profoto B10 Plus pair
- Sunbounce 12×12 kit
Lighting
- Aputure 600d
- Astera Titan tube kit
- ARRI SkyPanel S60
- ARRI HMI 1.2k
Sound
- Sound Devices mixer-recorder
- Wireless lav kit (4)
Grip
- Dolly package
- Generator
Equipment day rates are quoted with the crew rates. A large feature often cannot find this kit on the island. It can be flown in the same day, which costs more, so book ahead. When a job needs more than this list, we ask partner rental houses across Cyprus and put one request together. Send the dates and we confirm what is free.
05 — Locations
Coast, field, and dune inside a day’s move.
Paphos and PeyiaAbout an hour from Limassol. Wild coast and sea caves. Kourion, nearby, needs an antiquities permit.
Akrotiri dunesLimassol. The sand dunes are at Akrotiri, on the Limassol coast. A job that needs a desert look starts here.
Open countryOne location. Meadow and field. The Mega Friends commercial was a night shoot on this field.BeachCoast. A beach unit. A public beach still needs a municipal permit once vehicles or generators arrive.White cliffsCoast. Coastal cliffs and sand, a short move from the unit base.Hotel and villaPrivate ground. Hotel grounds and private villas are a contract with the owner. Ving — Falling was three hotel days.Rocky coastSea. Rock shelves above the water, used for coastal portraits and small units.Limassol is the unit base. Nicosia is about an hour. Cape Greco is about ninety minutes and works with an Ayia Napa or Protaras base. Troodos is a mountain day. Akamas is straightforward to shoot and has a low impact on the land. Generators there need Forestry Department approval. Permits sit with the municipality, forestry, antiquities, police, or civil aviation.
06 — Cyprus Film Scheme, 2026
Up to 45% below the line. Up to 25% above the line.
The current scheme is open until 30 June 2027. A cultural test sets the exact percentage. Qualifying features, high-end series, documentaries, and animation apply before they shoot. Cash is paid within 120 days of an accepted final claim.
- A feature needs at least €200,000 of eligible Cyprus spend. A series episode needs at least €65,000.
- At least 20% of the shoot days and 20% of the budget must be in Cyprus.
- Aid is capped at €1.5 million, €3.5 million, or €5 million as that Cyprus share rises through 20%, 35%, and 70%. The annual budget is €25 million.
- Choose the cash rebate or a 25–35% tax credit, not both. An infrastructure deduction of 20% for a small company, or 10% for a medium company, can stack. Combined aid on the same spend stops at 50%.
- Commercials, shorts, ads, sports, and news are not eligible. This is not a guarantee. The Greek text prevails. The regulations are at film.investcyprus.org.cy.
07 — 2026 day rates
2026 crew day rates.
| Role | 2026 day rate |
|---|---|
| Line producer | €450 |
| Production manager | €340 |
| Production coordinator | €280 |
| Location manager | €450 |
| Director of photography | €900 |
| 1st AC | €340 |
| 2nd AC | €270 |
| DIT | €280 |
| Gaffer | €430 |
| Lighting technician | €310 |
| Key grip | €390 |
| Grip | €310 |
| Sound mixer | €420 |
| Boom operator | €280 |
| Hair and makeup | €390 |
| Production assistant | €220 |
| Drone operator | €420 |
| Art director | €450 |
| Prop master | €500 |
Weekend days are typically the same rate. A day is 10 hours. Hours 10–12 are 1.5×, and hours after 12 are 2×. The hourly rate is the day rate divided by 10. Turnaround is 6 hours. Nothing is booked until a producer confirms it. Whether Cyprus VAT is added depends on the customer and on whether the charge is a service or equipment used in Cyprus. The quote shows it.
08 — Cyprus, Spain, Portugal
Cyprus is one base, with a lower minimum spend, and it covers photo as well as film.
Cyprus
Up to 45% below the line and up to 25% above the line. A feature can start at €200,000 of eligible spend. Paphos is about an hour from Limassol. The cultural test sets the percentage. Open to 30 June 2027.
Spain
Mainland deduction is 30% on the first €1 million and 25% after that, from €1 million spent in Spain. The Canary Islands pay more, up to 54% on the first million when the spend is high enough. Spain has the stages and the long-running series.
Portugal
The 2026 large-production grant is 30% on the first €2 million, from €2.5 million of eligible spend. Lisbon can reach beach, city, and mountain inside about ninety minutes. Low-density areas and the islands pay a higher rate.
09 — Request
Tell us what you need. We’ll come back with availability and a quote.
We reply the same day on WhatsApp. A quote from a clear brief takes about two days. Equipment rental, a production service, or both. Dates and a short brief are enough to start. A script or synopsis lets us price the job against the pages.
How long it takes
- A photo job in nature, with no road closure: about 3 to 4 days.
- A television commercial with local casting: 2 to 4 weeks.
- A feature: about 2 months before the shoot.
10 — Questions
Filming and locations.
Who is Cyprus Production Service?
Cyprus Production Service handles local production for visiting film and photo crews. The company is Moi Ostrov Ltd (HE319483), at 15 Agaritsis, Nektaria Court, 3045 Zakaki, Limassol. The work is crew, permits, locations, and film and photo equipment rental, across Limassol, Nicosia, Larnaca, Paphos, and Ayia Napa. Alexander Papacosta is on +357 99 164 158 and hello@cyprusproductionservice.com.
Why do productions come to Cyprus?
Cyprus puts coast, desert, mountains, and city streets within a short drive of each other. English is widely spoken, the island has about 340 sunny days a year, and qualifying feature films and series can apply for the Cyprus Film Scheme.
What does a film production service in Cyprus include?
Cyprus Production Service supplies the local layer of a shoot: line production, location management, permits, crew, cast support through Alegency, film and photo equipment, transport, accommodation, and catering. The visiting company keeps the director, the script, and the edit.
What does a photo production service in Cyprus include?
For stills we book the location, the permits, assistants, hair and makeup, and the photo kit. That kit includes Profoto heads and Sunbounce frames sized for hard midday sun. Recent work includes the GQ Germany cover at Hotel Almyra and Net-a-Porter editorial.
How do filming permits work?
Permits sit with different authorities depending on the place: municipality, forestry, antiquities, police for roads, and the civil aviation authority for drones. We file each permit so it matches the call sheet. Airport and archaeological sites need the longest lead time.
Can a commercial claim the Cyprus cash rebate?
No. Advertising, commercials, shorts, news, sports, and most entertainment formats are outside the current scheme, which is open until 30 June 2027. Qualifying feature films, television series, documentaries, and animation can apply for up to 45% below the line and up to 25% above the line when they meet the spend and shoot-day tests.
How does Cyprus compare with Spain or Portugal?
A qualifying feature can start at €200,000 of eligible Cyprus spend. Mainland Spain’s foreign-production deduction is 30% on the first €1 million and 25% after that, and it needs at least €1 million spent in Spain. The Canary Islands pay a higher rate. Portugal’s 2026 large-production grant is 30% on the first €2 million, from €2.5 million of eligible spend. Cyprus is one base: Paphos is about an hour from Limassol, and Cape Greco is about ninety minutes. English is the working language, and the same company runs film and photo. A cultural test sets the Cyprus percentage. This is not a guarantee.
Do you rent cameras and lights without a full production service?
Yes. Film equipment rental and photography equipment rental can be booked on their own. Camera bodies in the working list include ARRI Alexa Mini, Alexa Mini LF, RED Komodo, and Canon C70, plus lighting, grip, and sound.
Which Cyprus locations are used most often?
Limassol covers modern city, marina, and beach hotels. Paphos and Peyia cover wild coast, sea caves, and archaeological sites including Kourion. The Troodos mountains cover forest and villages. Latchi and Lefkara cover harbour and stone-village looks. Cape Greco covers eastern cliffs and coves.
How far apart are the main filming areas?
Limassol to Paphos is about an hour. Limassol to Nicosia is about an hour. Limassol to Ayia Napa and Cape Greco is about an hour and a half. Most unit moves stay inside one region for the day.
Can we film at ancient sites?
Kourion and other antiquities sites need a permit from the Department of Antiquities. Access, crew size, and equipment are restricted. Book these before the rest of the schedule.
Are beaches public?
Many beaches are public and still need a municipal or district permit once you bring a unit, vehicles, or generators. Hotel beaches are private and are cleared with the hotel.
11 — Company
Cyprus Production Service is Moi Ostrov Ltd.
HE319483 · VAT CY10309483. The crew works in English, Greek, Russian, and Swedish. For more than fifteen years the company has been the crew, the permits desk, and the equipment desk for visiting film and photo productions. A visiting production can bring its own crew and its own equipment.
15 Agaritsis, Nektaria Court
3045 Zakaki, Limassol
+357 99 164 158
hello@cyprusproductionservice.com
Weekdays 9:00–18:00 · weekends 9:00–12:00