The Maulidi Festival

The Maulidi Festival t in May – June on Lamu Island akes place every year during the third month of the Muslim calendar (Rabi ul Awwal) to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Mohammed.

This is held on Lamu Island in Kenya located in the Indian Ocean 120km from Mombasa. The festival celebrations bring together thousands of Muslims from Kenya as well as other parts of East Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world. During your shoot of the festival you will also have many other items to shoot on Lamu Island such as fishing villages and the Indian Ocean.

Requirements to film the Maulidi Festival

You will also need to get a filming permit from Kenya Film Commission for you to be allowed to film the Maulidi Festival. In order to obtain a Filming Permit, one must write a letter requesting for the permit and fill an application form which must be accompanied by a copy of the screenplay, a story synopsis and a shooting schedule. These should be sent to the Film Licensing Officer, Kenya Film Commission. Filming permit for features, documentaries, short films, music videos, corporate videos and commercials are issued within minutes of application. Applications for TV Series and full length feature films are processed in less than 48 hours of application. Contact us at Eco Adventure Safaris we will be able to help you process the filming permissions with the Local Authorities in Kenya for you to be able to successfully film in this park

Filming fees and costs for filming the Maulidi Festival

The following charges are applied for any filming the Maulidi Festival:

• Ksh. 8, 000 ($80) for five (5) people for one (1) week or part thereof.

• Ksh. 12, 000 ($115) for six (6) – ten (10) people for one (1) week or part thereof.

• Ksh. 20, 000 ($200) for more than ten (10) people for one (1) week or part thereof.

Kenya Filming Fees

a) Filming rates

• Adverts, documentaries, dramas, short features; still photographs KSHS 5,000 ($50)
• Full-length feature films, TV series KSHS 15,000 ($150)
• Daily filming fees KSHS 1,000 ($10)

b) Liaison Officer’s service charges

The Ministry charges Ksh. 400 ($5) per day to cover Liaison Officer’s services provided by a government Liaison Officer to be attached to the crew.

c) Other charges

• Each visitor is required to pay Ksh. 2,000 ($20) to the Immigration Department for a special pass before engaging in any film shooting. The crew may however, arrive in Kenya on a visitor’s pass while the filming special pass is being processed. We recommend you travel after all the filming paper work has been arranged to avoid inconveniences.
• For all filming equipment, a nominal non-refundable fee of 1% of the value of the equipment or Ksh 30,000 ($300) whichever is less is payable to the Customs Department on presentation of a film license.

On top of the above you will need to cover Press accreditation, accommodation, transport and others for a successful shoot of the Maulidi Festival as below;

Press Accreditation

All film crew members are by law supposed to be accredited by Kenya Film Commission to be allowed to film the Maulidi Festival. Local filming agents and Private production companies or individuals are requested to submit their applications through a local agent registered with the ministry. This requirement is mandatory for all applications to make feature films or documentaries. Each crew member is required to fill a Kenya Film License Form (which we normally send to you) with all details, scan and send it back to us with a copy of his/her passport as well as one photograph to be put on his/her filming license. On top of this, we will need a letter from the filming company detailing who they are, why they are filming, where they will be filming and details of crew members on this shoot. We will attach this letter to all details provided and send them to Kenya Film Commission for film license processing. This takes 2-3 working days to have these film licenses ready.

Visa Advice

You will need to purchase the tourist visa. Many film crews prefer obtaining their visas before they come to Kenya but visa’s can be obtained easily upon arrival at any entry point and in this case Nairobi International Airport upon paying either USD51.00 for Tourist Visa you will be able to get it immediately.

Vehicle Hire Services

Eco Adventure Safaris will help you organize transport for film crews to film the Maulidi Festival depending on their interest, budget and the nature of roads in such selected locations to film in the park. We recommend Customized 4×4 Land Cruisers which costs from USD200-250 per vehicle per day with Driver/Fixer or 4×4 Safari Vans from USD200 per Van per day with driver/Fixer. For us to estimate how much it will cost in terms of fuel, we will need to look at your filming schedule to establish mileage and distance to be travelled. We also organize both charter and schedule air transport for those that need to fly in order to reduce on the number of hours.

Fixers in Kenya to help you film the Maulidi Festival

All our vehicles come with drivers who act as location fixers and most of them have been to almost all parts of Kenya and are thus conversant with the local situations and are able to provide relevant information and fix any situation on ground. These act as intermediaries between you and our office while on location filming the Maulidi Festival.

Where to stay during filming the Maulidi Festival

Lodge and Hotel options to stay in during filming the Maulidi Festival range from Budget, mid-range to luxury options. You will choose what to stay in depending on your interests and budget. Contact us here for booking details. 

Why use Eco Adventure Safaris to film the Maulidi Festival

Eco Film Fixers is a local fixer company, we assist filming companies and Production agencies in Uganda and East Africa as a whole for the last 8 years. We handle all fixer services required with our professional team of local fixers and driver guides. We have all relevant connections with other service providers and government agencies to make sure that accreditation and filming permits are processed in the shortest time possible.