Sam Mendes’s latest Bond movie, Spectre, filmed its opening sequence on location in Mexico City, recreating the country’s Day of the Dead celebrations. The worldwide success of Spectre has helped to put Mexico on the production map and has also boosted the flow of tourism to the country.
Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi drama Elysium was the last high-profile film to shoot in Mexico City prior to Spectre, using the region as a stand-in for a dystopian Los Angeles.
Mexico offers a broad filming incentive programme. Producers can get a tax return of up to 10-12% and the ProAV tax rebate offers up to 7.5% on eligible local spending. These strands can be combined to get back up to 17.5% of the total Mexico production budget.
The country’s production industry is largely based in Mexico City and from here the Mexican Film Commission co-ordinates nationwide filming assistance and over the past year
in particular has been focussed on strengthening its National Film Commissions Network.
This type of location and the visual effect of the sulphur layer are unique to the cenotes of Mexico. It’s the best example of the naturally occurring chemical reaction that creates the ‘underwater river’ effect in the world. There was nowhere else we could do it as successfully.
William Williamson, Director
The climate in Mexico is mainly temperate. Average temperatures range from 17C to 30C throughout the year.
The mountains in northern Mexico have recorded sub-zero temperatures and the northern city of Mexicali has reached as high as 52C.
Coastal Mexico and the beaches of the Pacific and the Caribbean average temperatures of between 25C and 35C. The coasts are also at risk of hurricanes during summer and autumn.
