Doubling for other cities, a give and take
Cities such as Melbourne have promoted themselves as potential screen doubles for international destinations, but they have to accept that it can happen to them too, as other world cities now offer to double for Australia.
“How wonderful that our beautiful city has come so far that productions are using other locations as a double for Melbourne!” Film Victoria CEO Sandra Sdraulig told Encore.
Sdraulig’s comment is in response to the fact that the Indian film Crook: It’s Good to Be Bad, which deals with the Indian student controversy that took place in Melbourne last year, was mostly shot in Cape Town, South Africa, because it was cheaper than Victoria. Crook… complemented the Cape Town footage with a shorter 12-day shoot in Melbourne in late May.
“Melbourne is a great city to film in, we have a long and productive relationship with the Indian screen industry, and we always provide fantastic film commission services,” added Sdraulig.
While in Melbourne, producer Mahesh Bhatt told Encore that he had found Australia to be ‘very rigid’ as a place to shoot, and that the country was not doing enough to promote itself as a filmmaking destination for Indian creatives.
“Since 2005 we’ve had five Indian productions film here, so the message that Melbourne is a great place to film is obviously getting around. And in the Screen Industry Strategy we’ve committed to strengthening those connections.
“But we also have an obligation to the community to ensure that production activity undertaken in Victoria complies with occupational health and safety standard and filming protocols; and with due
consideration for the wellbeing of cast, crew and local residents and businesses. While we understand the pressures of filming, schedules and budgets, the safety of everyone involved is paramount,” said Sdraulig.
