Mauritius and cinema

In recent years, Mauritius has been building stronger and stronger links with the film industry. If producers and directors come to the island to set up their cameras, it is not only for the exotic atmosphere, the white sand and the turquoise water. Let's discover this fulfilling relationship between Mauritians and the 7th art.

 

In 2017, the film crew of the film "Serenity" (with Matthew McConaughey, Oscar for best actor 2014 and Anne Hathaway who had already given him the replica that same year in the blockbuster "Interstellar") landed on Mauritian soil. For this Hollywood thriller, Mauritius proudly offered 32 island sets, 2500 hotel rooms and more than 24,000 bottles of water, all in complete serenity! Producer Guy Heller explains that Mauritius was a favourite and that the Film Rebate Scheme was just as interesting financially. 

 

We are still waiting for the release of "Singleholic", the second Holywood production to have chosen Mauritius, for a total budget of 4 million US dollars. It is nothing more than a comedy about the story of a woman who wakes up on her 35th birthday and decides it's time to get married and start a family. Followed by a series of hilarious dates.

Milan Selassie, producer of the film (who initially wanted to shoot in South Africa) strongly believed in the potential of the film industry in Mauritius and welcomes the government's policy on this sector, calling it intelligent. He explained that shooting a film of this size had a great economic domino effect because the team must use a local catering service, but also local employees and a multitude of small businesses that grow around the film set. Milan Selassie is already planning to shoot his third film "Prodigal Sounds" in Mauritius!

The Indians are starting to do it too! 

 

The first Bollywood film Saansein was shot in 2016, launching a long series of films from Bombay.  About forty sites are used as scenery, including the famous central market of Port-Louis or the foot of the Morne Brabant mountain.

 

 

We are even starting to talk about Tollywood in Mauritius, named after the Indian Telugu film industry. It would appear that the President of CII Telangana, representing Tollywood, was convinced of the tax benefits offered by the Film Rebate Scheme.

On the French side, we had already seen Maurice on the screen in "Mon père, ce héros" (1991) with Gérard Depardieu. The film was about a girl who was inventing a life for herself and trying to win a boy's favour by making him believe that his father was actually his companion... Gérard Lauzier's work had brought together Marie Gillain, Patrick Mille, Catherine Jacob and Charlotte de Turckheim alongside our sacred monster. 

 

But more recently, the island has been used as a backdrop for "Lisa Redler", Nicole Garcia's feature film, which is due to be released in 2019. On the bill: Pierre Niney, the idol of the young girls, Benoît Magimel and Stacy Martin. It is the story of a love triangle that, a priori, can only end badly. The film was produced by a Mauritian technical team (Identical Pictures) and a large number of extras, including employees of the Hotel de Constance Prince Maurice in the east of the island, on the Poste Lafayette. 

 

 

This year 2019 also marks the first edition of the Mauritius "European Film Festival", from 10 to 15 June, organised by the European Union. This festival offers screenings in cinemas (Cinéma Star Bagatelle & Caudan and Caudan Arts Centre) and in the open air (Tamarin beach and Mont Choisy football field) of the best of independent European cinema. It is the major event for film lovers on the island, focusing on Mauritius' current concerns: youth, family and ecology. 

 

Would Mauritius become the new film eldorado? The future will tell...