Imagine filming in Bolivia, Haiti and the Congo all within a few hours.  Now, add to that: low costs, no taxes, great weather, experienced crews, virgin locations and a government that welcomes you with open arms.  These are just some of the many reasons why Quantum of Solace, the latest installment of the James Bond film series, was filmed in Panama. 

Produced by UK-based Eon Productions, Quantum of Solace directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland and Academy Award-winning Monsters Ball) is scheduled for release in November 2008.

According to a website dedicated to the Bond films (www.mi6.co.uk), Daniel Craig and Gemma Arterton were seen recently shooting scenes for Quantum of Solace in the Santa Ana district of Panama City. Depicting Bolivia in the narrow streets were a hundred extras, many playing indigenous Bolivians, wearing coats, hats, and wool ponchos. Market stalls selling fruit, trucks loaded with bananas, and vehicles with Bolivian registration plates completed the scene.

Scenes doubling for Haiti were shot in the province of Colón, just north of Panama City. A seaport city on the Caribbean coast of Panama, Colón is located near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal and has traditionally been known as Panama's “Second City.”

This is not the first feature film to shoot in Panama.  Tailor of Panama, Basic Instinct and the End of the Spear are just some of the many films that have taken advantage of everything the country has to offer. With all the recent activity, the Panamanian Ministry of Commerce and Industry has now formed the new Panama Film Commission. The Vice Minister, Carmen Gisela Vergara will be the acting film commissioner.

One of the greatest benefits to filming in Panama is the absence of payroll taxes for local crew. Other benefits include the presence of the U.S. dollar as the primary currency, work permits/visas that can be completed via the Internet, a painless customs process and the absence of fees for police/fire.

There is a certain style to Panama City that reminds one of being in Miami. The skyline is spectacular, packed with towering, high rise apartment buildings and hotels. The city is an important hub for international banking and commerce, it has an advanced communications service, Internet use is widespread, and Tocumen International Airport offers daily flights to international destinations. While the city is undoubtedly very modern, the presence of colonial areas of the city like Casco Viejo, makes for a fascinating and unique location. Furthermore, just outside of the busy metropolitan areas, there are tropical rain forests, mountains, volcanoes, the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, pristine islands in the sun, and even a desert. Panama is a locations dream.

And last but not least, as Panama has yet to see an earthquake, tornado, hurricane or tsunami, new film commissioner Carmen Gisela Vergara happily notes, “Our country is natural disaster free”.