Written by James Peak on Nov 26, 2009. Posted in On Location

African locations double for Iraq

When UK-based Company Pictures was searching for locations to double for Iraq during the first days of the war, it was South African location specialists Out of Africa Entertainment who won the day with their extensive experience of Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa. The project became David Simon and Ed Burn’s mini-series Generation Kill which has just finished airing on UK terestrial television.

Out of Africa Entertainment has a long-standing relationship with Company Pictures and they continue to work together on the hugely successful series Wild at Heart and have also worked closely on another award-winning TV series The Devil’s Whore.

Knowing that Company Pictures was looking for locations which made financial sense and which would accommodate the need for hot deserts as well as fresh green landscapes, Lance Samuels, line producer on the series and founder of Out of Africa, offered to help:

“We managed to find all the locations they needed in a small area. It was this, as well as the cost-effectiveness of South Africa, that won it for us.”

HBO’s Generation Kill shows the first 40 days of the 2003 Iraq war through the eyes of a group of US marines. As the marines make headway into the country, the terrain changes completely, as Lance explains:

“If you follow the geography of Iraq, you find that it’s very diverse – from the desert to the more lush and green Baghdad. Namibia provides great desert terrain for the early episodes. We then went to Upington in the Northern Cape, which is along the Orange River, and ended up in Mozambique which is a perfect match for downtown Baghdad.”

The shoot was not without its challenges. In addition to all the necessary filming paraphernalia, the crew also had to cross South Africa with a convoy of military equipment. In fact, despite having notified the authorities, there was some alarm in Mozambique’s capital Maputo when the shoot’s clutch of Humvees rolled into town, as Lance remembers:

“When we moved to Mozambique, I had numerous meetings with the authorities, particularly those in the military department and obviously we had the correct permissions in place, but there was still some concern on the day that we rolled into Maputo, and the President was actually moved to a bunker! It was sorted out very quickly, however.”

The shoot attracted an international crew, and was also able to draw on a large contingent of South African cast and crew. Financially, Generation Kill benefited from South Africa’s generous rebate incentives, which at the moment stand at 15% of the production expenditure in the country, up to ZAR10 million. Out Of Africa itself continues to work on some very high profile productions. Asked to name just a few, Lance says:

“We’ve just come to the end of Strike Back for Sky TV and Left Bank pictures. We are in series 5 of Wild at Heart. Last year, we completed The Prisoner for ITV and AMC, which we are very proud of. In this economic climate, producers are looking for alternative ways to make shows on limited budgets and that’s where South Africa comes to the fore.”

Lance is keen to emphasise the sheer variety of locations available within South Africa, as well as the incredible climate: “We battle a bit with snow, but we can pretty much do everything else!”