The contract
The contract is bilingual, in English and Russian, and can be signed electronically. Your counterparty is IE “AISPRO”, registered in Almaty — the company behind AIS Production.
Budget and currency
We budget and contract in US dollars or euros. Send a brief with your dates, crew size and the looks you need: within 12 hours we reply with first locations and a ballpark budget.
How payment works
- By bank transfer to the company’s account in Kazakhstan, or in cash.
- An advance before prep starts, the rest in stages.
Insurance
We insure the local crew, the equipment and the locations. Your foreign crew needs its own travel medical insurance; if you don’t have it, we arrange it in Kazakhstan.
The 30% rebate: what it is and what it isn’t
Foreign productions can apply for a rebate of up to 30% of their spend in Kazakhstan. The programme is run by the State Center for Support of National Cinema under the Law On Cinematography and Order of the Minister of Culture No. 206 of 22 July 2019.
Now the honest part. Applications take a long time — sometimes more than six months — and there is no annual budget or application window. So we never build the rebate into your budget as a promise. We help you apply, and if it comes through, it is a bonus on top of a budget that already works without it.
Where the savings really come from
- No location fees. For locations in our database, including national parks, you don’t pay for the location; we take care of the contracts and fees.
- Cast on the ground. Actors of Indian, Korean and Chinese appearance for bit parts, and up to 3000 extras a day, are found in Kazakhstan instead of being flown in.
- Gear on the ground. ARRI, RED and Blackmagic cameras, lenses, cranes, lighting and a 727 m² sound stage are hired locally at partner rates, with nothing to clear through customs.
- Several countries in one. Alps, desert, canyon and a European city from one base — see what Kazakhstan can play.
- No prop weapons in your luggage. Importing any weapon, even a prop, takes permits and weeks; licensed armourers here have blank-firing weapons and replicas.
The calendar is part of the budget
The most expensive day is the one the crew waits. C3 work visas take 8–12 weeks, military and transport sites 15–30 days, street closures 15 days. Start the paperwork early and the budget stays the one you signed. The full list is in filming permits in Kazakhstan.
One contact from start to finish
A coordinator who speaks your language handles everything from the first email to the crew’s departure: WhatsApp for India and Korea, WeChat for China.