Sri Lanka has Great Locations for Filming - The Location Guide 2011

19th October 2010, www.realbollywood.com

Sri Lanka has “great locations for filming”, says The Location Guide, the film industry’s bible for selectig movie and commercial production locales.

The latest edition has a separate focus on Sri Lanka, showing the island’s natural beauty, a film-friendly government and its reasonable production costs.

Sri Lanka’s wildlife parks, tea plantations, miles of pristine beaches and the colonial architecture too were highlighted.

The country has an impressive history of filmmaking. It was the setting for such movies as “Bridge on the River Kwai”, “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”, “Jungle Book” and “Tarzan the Ape Man”.

“Dubbed the pearl of the Indian Ocean, my feeling is that Sri Lanka deserves this title and there is no question that it has great locations for filming and excellent production values with crew rates which would have to be considered the most competitive in the region,” wrote Murray Ashton, founder of the London-based The Location Guide.

The Guide noted that 300 commercials were filmed in Sri Lanka in 2009, the year the military crushed the Tamil Tigers.

“The production community is also made of around 700 film professionals working across all production categories,” the guide stated.

Sri Lanka recently established a 235-acre tele-cinema studio facility.

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The Location Guide 2011 - The essential guide for location filming worldwide

First published in 1998, the Location Guide has been relaunched this year. It has been completely redesigned and has gone from an A5 to an A4 format to make best use of the thousands of location images included and the essential information for over 160 countries, states and provinces.

Each of the 160 editorial sections covers local equipment and crew levels as well as rules and regulations for bringing in additional resources, location highlights, climate details, financial incentive information and comments from industry figures. Two new key elements are our essential facts box and the key costs box which allows you to quickly compare costs for all regions featured.

The guide also contains details of over 2,000 government contacts, production service companies, studios and lab facilities. Each company listing features full contact details, trading history and most recent productions.

Hollywood Film Location Scouts Find Sri Lanka a Top Location for Film Makers

20th September 2010, www.news.lk

Hollywood film location scout Bill Bowling shoots pictures during a recent 10-day visit to Sri Lanka.The Bridge on the River Kwai, the winner of seven Academy Awards and arguably one of Hollywood’s greatest movies, was filmed in Sri Lanka.

So were many scenes in Steven Spielberg’s second Indiana Jones film, The Temple of Doom. With its rich natural landscapes, jungles and beaches, Sri Lanka has provided unrivaled backdrops for filmmakers. Now a veteran Hollywood film location scout who recently spent two weeks touring the island confirms that Sri Lanka will continue to be to be a top location for film makers.

“The extent of its future success largely depends on promotion and ease of production in Sri Lanka,” said international film consultant and former Warner Bros. Worldwide Locations Executive Bill Bowling. Mr. Bowling cited Sri Lanka’s “natural beauty” as an advantage for the island, and noted that its rich animal life could attract documentary filmmakers.

But “financial incentives have become the driver for location decisions around the world,” Mr. Bowling said, adding that Sri Lanka may be best positioned to, “attract TV commercials and documentaries.”

Sri Lanka’s allure for filmmakers is confirmed in the 2011 Location Guide, the world’s premier resource for international film production,which highlighted Sri Lanka as a film location.

In March, Sri Lanka opened the Mahinda Rajapaksa National Tele-Cinema Park in Hambantota. The state-of-the-art center includes 235 acres of picturesque landscape featuring lakes, forests, model villages and colonial buildings in addition to industry standard pre-and-post production facilities.

Sri Lanka has a long history with the global film industry. Harrison Ford, the star of the Indiana Jones films, said in an interview several years ago that Sri Lanka is “the one location that stands out as being so impressive. I loved the culture of Sri Lanka.”

Mr. Bowling participated in U.S. Ambassador Jaliya Wickramasuriya’s “Signature Tour” that brought 25 American professionals and business people to Sri Lanka last month. The tour group included an award-winning travel writer and executives from a variety of industries.

Before the tour, Ambassador Wickramasuriya had predicted that the “journey will be an eye-opening experience that will highlight Sri Lanka’s boundless potential.” After seeing many of the islands’s fabled destinations, from the World Heritage site of the Galle Fort to the tea fields of Nuwara Eliya, Mr. Bowling agreed that Sri Lanka is a likely destination for film makers.

Ambassador Wickramasuriya and Mr. Bowling met with the Minister of Mass Media and Information Keheliya Rabukwella and his permanent Secretary Mr. W.B Ganegala, who are working to develop a Sri Lankan film industry and are optimistic about the entertainment industry’s potential for growth.

“Right now, we are working to increase our visibility with producers and directors in Hollywood and in other countries,” the Ambassador said. “Sri Lanka has demonstrated its ability to attract foreign investment and we will use our strengths, the island’s natural beauty and ecological wonders, to continue to make this a welcome place for the world’s film industry.”

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"Chandran, Our Most Valued Friend in the Far East." - Steven Spielberg