Pres Ali calls on filmmakers to consider Guyana as production destination

–As part of the orange economy push

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has issued a call to international filmmakers to consider Guyana as a production destination, as the government pours investment into developing an orange economy.

The president made the call during his address to delegates at a US-Guyana Business Exchange reception at the Grand Tuscany Hotel, on the sidelines of the 2026 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas.

The orange economy represents one of several sectors the administration is targeting alongside tech services, petrochemicals and digital modernisation.

“These are things that we are going after,” the president said, while also declaring, “We don’t want to be on a single track.”

Drawing on Colombia’s experience as a model, President Ali pointed out how the Netflix series Narcos helped transform that country’s creative industry into a global force.

He said Guyana holds comparable, if not stronger, potential and argued that the country’s natural environment makes it an ideal location for international productions.

“There is no better place to film a series like Survival or Naked and Afraid than Guyana,” he said. “We have the ecosystem to support the orange economy in unbelievable ways. And that is why we want people who will help us to shorten the time to get to these products.”

Officially introduced in late 2025, the orange economy initiative, which encompasses creative industries, cultural production and entertainment, seeks to boost Guyana’s creative industries. It received a budgetary allocation of $3.7 billion in 2026.

A National Multistakeholder Orange Economy Taskforce has also been formed.

“We want Guyana to be a mega hub of culture, entertainment, sports. These are things that we are going after. We don’t want to be on a single track,” President Ali underscored.