Written by Tom Deehan on Jan 23, 2017. Posted in On Location / Production News

BAFTA nominee Lion features rare locations from India and Australia

Garth Davis’s debut feature film, Lion was shot almost entirely in Tasmania and Calcutta. The film stars Dev Patel alongside Rooney Mara, Nicole Kidman and newcomer Sunny Pawar.

Lion is based on the true life story of Saroo Brierley, who was separated from his family as a young boy, only to later be adopted by an Australian couple. As a young adult, Saroo sought to retrace his journey and locate his family.

Without a dedicated film commission, organising a shoot in India can be difficult. A number of scenes were shot at Howrah Station, one of the oldest train stations in Calcutta.

Production services were provided by India Take One Productions.

In an interview with Collider, Davis explains: “we were shooting a scene with Sunny (Pawar) one day where the crowd started to come in their thousands to watch us. We literally had to rope off a section of the environment so that we could get the shot and so we were very hemmed in. By the time we were filming, there must have been about 5,000/6,000 people watching... everything is stacked against you, it's so noisy and quite a challenge.”

For the Australian portion of the shoot, the production visited Hobart, Mount Wellington, Cape Huay, Bruny Island, Marion Bay and Recherche Bay. The production utilised a larger amount of Tasmanian locations to stay true to the original story, as Saroo was raised in Hobart.

Tasmania is rarely featured in international projects due to the allure of mainland Australia as a larger production hub. The island was recently used however in The Light Between Oceans, starring Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander.

There are no film incentives for productions shooting in India but international projects filming in Australia can access a 16.5% tax rebate. A minimum of USD15 million must be spent locally to qualify for the scheme.

Lion is now showing in cinemas nationwide.