FILM FIXERS IN THE CARIBBEAN
Hoodlum Film Fixers Caribbean
Hoodlum is a professional film fixing company specialising in Caribbean production services. Founded to serve the growing demand for expert on-the-ground support across the region,
Hoodlum operates local offices across 15 Caribbean territories including Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, St Lucia, Grenada, the Bahamas and more. The company provides end-to-end production support for international broadcasters, streaming platforms, commercial production companies and documentary filmmakers — covering film permits, drone approvals, customs clearance, local crew, marine logistics, resort access and full line producer services.
The Caribbean is one of the most visually extraordinary filming regions in the world — and one of the most logistically complex to navigate. From the turquoise waters of the Bahamas and the colonial streets of Havana, to the volcanic peaks of St Lucia and the resort coastlines of the Dominican Republic, the region offers a range of environments that very few places on earth can match.
But filming in the Caribbean is not simply a matter of arriving with a camera. Each island operates under its own permit system, aviation rules, customs procedures, resort access requirements and community protocols. Marine filming, drone operations, inter-island logistics and weather windows all add layers of complexity that require precise local knowledge and established relationships to manage effectively.
FILM FIXERS IN THE CARIBBEAN
Hoodlum Film Fixers has Production Service offices
Hoodlum’s Caribbean offices have supported productions across a range of formats and broadcasters. Our credits include unscripted and reality series for TLC, lifestyle and travel productions for Hulu, documentary and factual content for Lifetime, and branded programming for WE tv. We have managed single-island commercial shoots for global advertising agencies, multi-island documentary series requiring simultaneous coordination across four or more territories, and long-running reality formats that return to the Caribbean season after season. Every production — regardless of scale — receives the same standard of operational support.
Click on the region below to view full Comprehensive Production Support Guide
WHY HOODLUM FILM FIXERS IN THE CARIBBEAN
Why Film in The Caribbean with Hoodlum Film Fixers
The Caribbean is one of the most visually compelling filming regions in the world. It is also one of the most logistically demanding. Island access, permit systems, marine safety, customs, resort permissions and community liaison all require precise local knowledge — and that knowledge only comes from being on the ground.
Hoodlum has local offices throughout the Caribbean. Our teams have delivered productions for major US broadcasters and streaming platforms, handled multi-island shoots, managed marine and resort logistics, and built the local relationships that make complex shoots run smoothly.
FILM FIXERS IN THE CARIBBEAN: FULL PRODUCTION SERVICES GUIDE
Every Service. Every Detail.
Every Production Covered.
Caribbean production depends on practical logistics as much as permits. Hoodlum coordinates resort agreements, private villa permissions, boat transfers, yacht access, dive teams, water safety, tide planning, inter-island transport, equipment freight and customs clearance alongside all standard production services.
Our services across all 15 Caribbean destinations cover film permits, applications and authority liaison; local crew sourcing, fixers, coordinators and specialist technicians; location scouting, recce planning and private-location permissions; licensed drone operators and aviation compliance; marine support including boat coordination, dive teams and underwater filming; camera, lighting, grip and sound equipment with import support; resort agreements and villa permissions; rebate and incentive eligibility guidance for the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico; risk assessments, medical support and hurricane contingency planning; carnet guidance and temporary equipment imports; cultural liaison and contributor management; and crew visa and work permit compliance.
POPULAR FILM LOCATIONS IN THE CARIBBEAN
Locations. Locations. Locations.
The Caribbean offers one of the most diverse ranges of filming environments within a compact geography — pristine beaches, colonial cities, rainforests, volcanic peaks and luxury resorts all within short travel distances of each other. Hoodlum scouts, permits and manages all location types below.
Beaches & Bars — White-sand beaches, beach bars, waterfront settings, rocky coves and secluded bays across all 15 destinations. Some of the most photographed coastlines in the world.
Pools & Villas — Luxury resort pools, private villa gardens, overwater terraces, verandas and tropical outdoor living spaces — from ultra-modern to traditional Caribbean colonial.
Jetties & Marinas — Wooden piers, working marinas, fishing harbours, yacht anchorages and coastal waterfront access. Strong for reality, travel and lifestyle formats.
Landscapes — Tropical hillsides, volcanic peaks, rainforest trails, waterfalls, sugar cane fields and island panoramas. Dominica, St Lucia and Jamaica are especially strong.
Villages & Streets – Colourful Caribbean wooden houses, colonial town streets, local markets, fishing villages and busy port areas. Cuba and Curaçao have world-class colonial streetscapes.
Buildings & Architecture – British and French colonial plantation houses, modern luxury villas, historic forts, old churches and city centres. The Dominican Republic has excellent studio infrastructure.
Interiors – Tropical villa interiors, resort rooms, boho-style Caribbean homes, boutique hotel spaces and upscale dining environments. Highly sought-after for fashion and lifestyle shoots.
Marine & Underwater — Coral reefs, open ocean, dive sites, lagoons and coastal water locations. The Bahamas and Turks & Caicos are considered among the world’s best marine filming environments.
Hoodlum scouts, permits and manages all location types across the Caribbean. Our offices supply location mood boards and recce photography matched to your creative brief — for fashion, film, commercial, reality and documentary productions. Send us your brief →
INCENTIVES IN THE CARIBBEAN
Incentive Breakdown by Caribbean Region
The Caribbean offers a range of financial incentives for international productions, from structured national rebate programmes to tourism-led support. Understanding what is available — and what is guaranteed — is essential before building any incentive into a production budget.
Trinidad & Tobago — 35% Cash Rebate
FilmTT, operating under CreativeTT and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, administers the most structured film incentive programme in the Caribbean. Qualifying productions can claim a cash rebate of up to 35% of eligible local spend. Eligible formats include feature films, television series, documentaries, animation and commercials.
Pre-approval through FilmTT is required before principal photography begins — applications submitted after shooting commences will not be considered. All eligible expenditure must be tracked, receipted and verified for audit.
Eligible spend typically covers local crew fees, equipment hire, location fees, accommodation, catering and transport where procured locally. International spend and above-the-line costs are generally not eligible.
Trinidad and Tobago’s strong crew base, diverse locations and established production infrastructure make it the most fully-formed production destination in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Visit: filmtt.co.tt
Puerto Rico — 40% Tax Credit
Puerto Rico offers one of the most competitive film incentive rates in the entire Caribbean basin.
The programme, underpinned by Act 60 (formerly Act 27), provides a transferable tax credit of up to 40% on qualifying local spend.
Coverage includes local labour, locally procured services and goods purchased in Puerto Rico. The credit is transferable, meaning productions that cannot use the full credit against their own Puerto Rican tax liability can sell it.
Pre-certification through the Puerto Rico Film Commission is required before production begins. Puerto Rico benefits from its status as a US territory — crews do not require visas, US equipment can be brought in without carnets, and US production contracts and insurance apply.
The island also offers a wide range of locations from rainforest and beach to urban San Juan and historic colonial architecture.
Visit: puertoricofilm.pr.gov
Dominican Republic — 25% Tax Credit
DGCINE, the Dirección General de Cine, administers a transferable tax credit of up to 25% for qualifying international productions shooting in the Dominican Republic.
The credit applies to locally incurred production expenditure including crew, facilities, equipment, accommodation and services. The Dominican Republic has invested significantly in production infrastructure and is home to one of the largest purpose-built studio complexes in the Caribbean — Pinewood Dominican Republic Studios — with soundstages, backlots and full post-production facilities.
The country offers an exceptionally diverse range of locations including Caribbean beaches, mountain terrain, colonial city centres, modern urban environments and jungle interiors.
Strong local crew depth across all departments makes it well-suited to large-scale features and episodic television.
Visit: dgcine.gob.do
PRODUCTION SECTION
Full Production Support Services in The Caribbean
The Caribbean is one of the most logistically complex filming regions in the world — and one of the most rewarding. Every territory operates its own permit system, customs procedures, aviation rules and community protocols. Getting production right across the region requires more than a good location contact. It requires offices, relationships and operational systems that have been built over years on the ground.
Hoodlum provides full production support services across 15 Caribbean territories. Our local teams handle every stage of the production process — from early research, incentive evaluation and permit applications through customs clearance, crew coordination, marine logistics, resort access and final wrap. Whether you are planning a single-island commercial in Barbados, a multi-territory documentary series spanning Jamaica, Trinidad and the Dominican Republic, or a reality format that needs to move fast across islands with minimal friction, Hoodlum’s Caribbean offices are already there and ready to go.
Click a territory below to read the full production guide for that island.
The Bahamas is one of the most sought-after filming destinations in the Caribbean and one of the most logistically straightforward for international productions. As a Commonwealth nation with strong US and UK ties, the Bahamas offers excellent air connections, an established tourism infrastructure and a well-developed network of resort and marine locations. Nassau and Paradise Island provide urban shooting environments, while the Out Islands — including Exuma, Eleuthera, Abaco and Long Island — offer some of the most visually spectacular and undeveloped coastline in the world. The Bahamas Film Commission handles permit applications and Hoodlum’s local team manages all approvals, customs clearance, marine coordination and crew sourcing across the archipelago. The Bahamas does not currently operate a formal film rebate programme, though the Film Commission offers production facilitation and in some cases permit fee support for qualifying international projects.
St Lucia is one of the most visually distinctive filming environments in the Caribbean, defined by the iconic Piton mountains, dense rainforest interior, black sand and white sand beaches, and a well-developed resort coastline on the west. The island is particularly strong for landscape-heavy productions, travel documentaries, adventure formats and any project requiring dramatic natural backdrops that cannot be found elsewhere in the region. St Lucia’s film permit process runs through the St Lucia Film Commission, which operates as part of the wider tourism and investment authority. Hoodlum’s local team handles permit applications, location agreements with resort and private landowners, marine coordination along the west coast, and crew sourcing from the island’s established production community. St Lucia does not currently operate a formal film rebate, but the Film Commission actively supports international productions with facilitation, introductions and location access.
St Lucia is one of the most visually distinctive filming environments in the Caribbean, defined by the iconic Piton mountains, dense rainforest interior, black sand and white sand beaches, and a well-developed resort coastline on the west. The island is particularly strong for landscape-heavy productions, travel documentaries, adventure formats and any project requiring dramatic natural backdrops that cannot be found elsewhere in the region. St Lucia’s film permit process runs through the St Lucia Film Commission, which operates as part of the wider tourism and investment authority. Hoodlum’s local team handles permit applications, location agreements with resort and private landowners, marine coordination along the west coast, and crew sourcing from the island’s established production community. St Lucia does not currently operate a formal film rebate, but the Film Commission actively supports international productions with facilitation, introductions and location access.
Jamaica offers one of the most diverse production environments in the Caribbean — a combination of white sand beaches, dramatic mountain terrain, dense rainforest, working urban environments in Kingston and Montego Bay, and a globally recognised cultural identity that adds authenticity and context to documentary, travel and lifestyle formats. The island has a strong and experienced local crew base built on decades of international production activity, and a well-developed tourism infrastructure that simplifies logistics for international teams. JAMPRO, the Jamaica Promotions Corporation, and CreativeJA provide production facilitation, permit support and introductions to local suppliers. Hoodlum’s local Jamaica team manages the full permit process, location agreements, crew sourcing, customs clearance and on-ground logistics. Jamaica does not currently operate a formal national film rebate, though an incentive framework has been under development. Productions should confirm the current status of any incentive directly with JAMPRO before budgeting.
Curaçao is one of the most visually distinctive and logistically accessible filming destinations in the Dutch Caribbean. The island’s capital, Willemstad, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site — its colourful Dutch colonial waterfront architecture, swing bridges, floating markets and historic fortifications providing a unique urban backdrop found nowhere else in the region. Beyond the city, Curaçao offers secluded beaches, dramatic cliff coastlines, world-class dive sites and clear-water lagoons ideal for marine filming. As a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Curaçao has strong European and North American air connections, a stable regulatory environment and an established film commission. The Curaçao Film Commission provides permit facilitation, location assistance and production support for international crews. Hoodlum’s local team manages all aspects of production logistics across Curaçao, Aruba and Bonaire, the three Dutch Caribbean territories that together offer a combined range of environments unmatched anywhere else in the region.
Grenada — known as the Spice Isle — offers one of the most unspoiled and varied filming environments in the Eastern Caribbean. The island’s interior is defined by dense tropical rainforest, waterfalls, spice plantations and mountain terrain that provides a strikingly different visual language from the beach-heavy look of many Caribbean destinations. Grand Anse Beach on the south coast is consistently ranked among the best beaches in the world, and the island’s harbour at St George’s — one of the most beautiful natural harbours in the Caribbean — provides an exceptional waterfront filming environment. Grenada is well-suited to documentary, travel, adventure and lifestyle formats, and its relative lack of large-scale resort development gives it an authenticity that more heavily touristed islands cannot replicate. Hoodlum’s local team manages film permits, location agreements, crew sourcing and logistics across Grenada and the sister island of Carriacou.
FAQ SECTION
Frequently Asked Questions
Caribbean production raises questions that only on-the-ground experience can answer. Below are the most common queries our teams receive from international productions planning shoots across the region.
Several Caribbean territories offer financial incentives to attract international productions. The most structured programme is in Trinidad & Tobago. FilmTT administers a cash rebate of up to 35% of eligible local spend. Eligible formats include feature films, TV series, documentaries, animation and commercials. Pre-approval is required before principal photography begins. Most smaller Caribbean islands do not operate a formal national film rebate. Support may take the form of tourism cooperation, reduced permit fees or in-kind assistance — none of which should be assumed without written confirmation.
Always obtain written confirmation of any incentive before building it into your budget. Verbal assurances and tourism board goodwill are not the same as a guaranteed rebate.
Pre-approval through FilmTT is required before principal photography begins. Eligible formats include feature films, TV series, documentaries, animation and commercials. Eligible spend must be carefully tracked for audit and verification. Always obtain written confirmation before building any incentive into your production budget.
Yes. DGCINE administers a transferable tax credit of up to 25% for qualifying productions. The Dominican Republic also offers strong studio infrastructure, making it one of the region's most production-friendly destinations for larger-scale shoots.
Each territory has its own issuing authority and documentation requirements. In Trinidad and Tobago, filming coordination runs through FilmTT. In British Overseas Territories such as Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands, permits are handled directly with the relevant government authorities. In Dutch territories including Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire, the Curaçao Film Commission manages the approval process. Hoodlum manages permit applications across all 15 territories.
Most territories require a minimum of two to four weeks for standard approvals. Complex shoots involving public roads, marine activity, government buildings or resort environments will require additional time. We recommend starting the permit process as early as possible.
Yes. Drone permits must be secured independently for every territory and cannot be transferred between islands. Each territory has its own aviation authority and its own approval process.
Most territories accept ATA Carnets for the temporary importation of professional filming equipment. A clean, complete equipment list — every camera body, lens, drone, audio device, lighting unit, battery and support item with serial numbers and declared values — is the single most effective way to avoid delays at the border. Hoodlum coordinates all customs logistics and works with local brokers across all territories.
Yes, most Caribbean territories accept ATA Carnets for professional filming equipment. British Overseas Territories may operate differently from mainland UK procedures. Airport clearance is often possible on the same day when paperwork is correct. Freight shipments arriving by sea require a minimum of five to seven working days.
Hoodlum Film Fixers is an established film fixing company with its own offices and permanent on-the-ground teams throughout the Caribbean. Rather than operating as a remote coordinator or booking local subcontractors from overseas, Hoodlum has built a physical presence across 15 Caribbean territories — meaning the people managing your production are based in the region, know the permit authorities personally, have established relationships with resort managers, boat operators and local crews, and understand the specific logistics of each island.