Morocco’s Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid visits set of Gladiator 2 in aftermath of small fire.

Earlier the month, Morocco’s Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, visited the filming location of “Gladiator 2” movie in Ouarzazate, following a recent minor fire at the studio. The small fire that broke out was quickly contained by members of the film crew.

When Bensaid met the employees of the filming location, he affirmed that “the Ministry will continue to back this type of production and contribute to film and cultural industry projects,” noting that “this incident will not affect Ouarzazate as an international film destination.”

Bensaid, also met with British director and producer Ridley Scott and his team, stating that “Ouarzazate and Morocco are considered an international film destination offering considerable potential for the shooting of the world’s biggest film productions,” according to a press release by the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication.

The visit was a part of the efforts to support the city and promote international film productions in Morocco, with economic spin-offs for the region’s population through the creation of a significant number of direct and indirect jobs. Bensaid shared footage of a city siege battle sequence being filmed on Instagram.