Written by new-contact on Jul 29, 2015. Posted in On Location

EuropaCorp producers praise Croatia filming incentive as The Lake wraps

Croatia has won praise for its filming incentive programme from the producers of new action movie The Lake. Local production on the film wrapped over the weekend and producer Raphaël Benoliel was quick to emphasise the importance of government support.

Produced by Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp and set during the Bosnian War of the mid-1990s, The Lake follows a group of elite soldiers that discovers a hoard of gold.

Croatia was used as a double for Bosnia and location filming took place in Zagreb and Istria in the north of the country. Servicing was provided by PAKT Media.

“From the charming and smallest village in the world Hum, to the Zagreb Fair where we recreated a city destroyed by the war, the support of all the cities we had to shoot in as well as the one from the national army have made our shoot a wonderful experience,” Benoliel told the Croatian Audiovisual Centre (HAVC).

“[The] rebate is essential when you choose a destination,” he added: “The Croatian one is a good model. Hrvoje Hribar and the HAVC are a great help for the rebate and way more. Croatia is definitely on my top destination list for shooting. Thanks again to all the technicians and crew that worked with us, to Diego Zanco and his incredible team [at PAKT Media].”

International productions will spend around USD 8 million in Croatia in 2015, according to HAVC figures. American series Dig – which relocated to Croatia from Israel last year – and crime drama Crossing Lines have shot scenes in Croatia in the last few months.

Game of Thrones has been the highest-profile regular visitor to Croatia in the last few years, using Dubrovnik as a stand-in for Westeros capital King’s Landing.

(Image: PAKT Media)