Guna Yala / San Blas Film Permits

Guna Yala is a popular destination for filmmakers looking to capture stunning visuals. The region is home to some of the world’s most beautiful scenery and unique cultures, making it an ideal place to shoot a movie or documentary. However, before you can begin filming in San Blas (Guna Yala), you must obtain the necessary film permits. In this article, we’ll discuss how to obtain film permits in Guna Yala and what documents are required. We’ll also discuss any additional fees that may be associated with obtaining a permit and how long it takes for approval. Finally, we’ll look at some tips for ensuring that your filming experience goes smoothly and successfully.

With this information in hand, you’ll be well-prepared to apply for your Guna Yala film permit and start filming!

The first thing to take into account is that Guna Yala is an indigenous territory governed by the Guna indigenous group. The territory consists of a narrow strip of land on the Caribbean side of the country of Panama, as well as an archipelago of 365 islands, of which only 50 are inhabited by the Guna people. This means that in order to obtain a film permit, instead of going to a Panamanian government office, you will need to go to the Guna General Congress, which is the maximum authority of this region.

Here you will apply for your film permit by means of a letter explaining as many details as you can, to let them know the number of people visiting, the dates, the exact locations you want to shoot, and most importantly, the purpose of the film or video. They will then gather in their regular meetings to discuss the approval or not of your permit.

It is important to mention that flying drones is prohibited, due to the excessive number of tourists flying drones and invading their privacy, so they decided to simply prohibit it.

You can still obtain a permit to fly your drone if you are respectful of their culture, and you are able to explain the purpose of your film.

We at GP Productions, have been working in several occasions in the Guna territory, and have developed a good relationship, and understanding with their community, to be able to successfully request these film permits all the time.

We recommend working with a local production company like GP Productions, to facilitate such permits, and all the logistics involved when filming in the Guna Yala territory.

This way you can focus on your production, while we facilitate the procedure.

The average time it takes us to process a film permit is 4 weeks. Sometimes it takes longer but is unusual. It requires to follow-up constantly as film permits are not their top priority.

After you are granted the permit, a fee is assigned for it, and after paying it, you obtain an official letter from them.

This permit still will not allow you to automatically film in any of their islands but is the first step for obtaining the authorization. Keep in mind that each island is owned by a family, so each island has a chief or cacique. You will still need to ask permission from them, and if they agree, a fee will be set for it.

This all sounds complicated and is the reason why we recommend you to work with a local production company with experience in this field.

You also need to take into account that transporting from island to island is done by boat. Food and lodging could also be complicated. These are other aspects that your fixer can help you with.

These are the aspects to take into account at the time of the writing of this article. Procedures change in time, so you still need to confirm when you decide to proceed with the film permits.