Seychelles, Ste Anne star in Dream Hotels TV movie |25 June 2005

Filming of Dream Hotels, a prime time TV mini-series in German that features luxury hotels against a tropical backdrop, is expected to start in little more than a week.

Seychelles features in the fifth part of the series, which airs twice a year in German-speaking Europe, usually in February or March at a time when “everybody is fed up with winter time,” says Peter Muhr, the location manager for Lisa Film, which is producing the 90-minute TV movies.

Episodes of Dream Hotels allow Europeans to take a fantasy trip away from the snow and to exotic locations like Bali, Thailand, Mauritius and tropical Mexico, all locales for previous episodes, he says.

The decision to shoot in Seychelles was an easy one. “Seychelles is known as one of the most beautiful holiday spots in the world,” Mr Muhr adds.

The movie is being directed by Otto Retzer, a well-known entity in Europe who has directed a number of TV projects since the ‘90s, and who also acted and produced before then.

Lisa Film is looking at filming in India for the sixth part, which will be shot later this year.

Exposure for Ste Anne

While filming will start on La Digue on July 4, Beachcomber’s Ste Anne Resort will be the centrepiece of the Seychelles episode, and most of the shooting will take place there.

The decision to showcase the resort was not a stroke of coincidence, but rather of convenience.

The exposure that Dream Hotels provide for luxury resorts like Ste Anne is simply a way of keeping down the costs associated with filming on location.

Beachcomber provides the accommodation, while Lisa Film, through Dream Hotels, beams what some might view as promotional images of the five-star resort to a wide audience in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and other countries where German is spoken.
Without that setup, “the costs would be enormous,” Mr Muhr says.

The resort will be shown as the “Beachcomber Ste Anne Resort” that it is, and will not be renamed for the purpose of the show, he adds. Scenes in the movie are expected to display hotel amenities – like the spa for instance – as well as the reception area and the ferry landing.

“We use the corporate identity (of the hotel),” Mr Muhr says, noting that the Dream Hotels episode shot in Mauritius also featured a Beachcomber hotel, and that since airing on television, the show has had “a big impact” on business.

Mr Muhr, and especially the Seychelles Tourism Board, which is providing support for the show during production, are hoping it will have a similar promotional influence for Seychelles as well. The huge granite rocks on La Digue figure to be “one of the eye-catchers of the movie,” Mr Muhr says.

Actors, extras and a giant beetle

So what exactly do five and eventually six different luxury resorts spanning the globe have in common?

The plot for Dream Hotels revolves around the owner of a chain of luxury resorts across the world, along with her son who manages them.

The same core of actors and actresses are featured in each of the 90-minute movies, but there are also episode characters attached to the country involved, giving local thespians a chance in front of the cameras.

An audition staged by the National Arts Council at the National Theatre in Mont Fleuri will start at 12 noon today for potential actors and actresses.

While not many roles for local actors will include speaking parts, local project manager Mick Jean-Louis says the show needs extras, and lots of them.

Mr Jean-Louis, who has been involved with a number of other movie projects while based in Seychelles, contests that though extras have small roles, they can result in bigger opportunities down the road. “You never know, someone might get noticed,” he said.
Apart from actors and extras, the production team is also looking for a giant beetle, which they are planning to incorporate into the storyline of the episode. Those who may be able to help in finding one are being asked to call Mr Jean-Louis on 715129 or Mr Muhr on 715123.
After filming on La Digue, the crew will shoot on Ste Anne for most of July. Scenes on Mahe will be filmed toward the end of the month. Victoria, Cap Lazare and the airport are expected to be some of the sites for filming, but Mr Muhr says other locations will be considered.

The Seychelles episode is likely to air next February or March. Mr Muhr said that once the sixth episode is filmed, the complete set will probably be packaged and sold so that they can be shown in other markets in different languages.