Rotterdam is not only interesting for tourist because of its architecture, but the city is also for producers een beautiful place to shoot commercials, tv shows and movies. In order to help Rotterdam has a Film Commissioner, Saskia Kagchèl. I talked to her about what she does exactly for her job, which locations are popular, but also which strange requests she sometimes receives.
Als Film Commissioner you are the first point of contact for producers of movies, television series and commercials when they want to shoot footage in Rotterdam. What does that mean from day-to-day for you?
Yes, the Rotterdam Film Commission is the place for questions about filming in Rotterdam. The goal is to welcome filmmakers as best as possible. And to point them the right way. Most requests start with a telephone call. Questions about locations, crew, but also the permits which are required. If it’s a single, simple day of filming we process that by using the online database and the filming protocol the city has. In this document it is described how permission is routed. The database can be used by a production to show where, when and how they want to do everything.
That information from the database end up at the Film Commission. Next we process that information and turn it into a registration. Next we forward that to the right services for approval. In this way we are the link between the services the city of Rotterdam has (like police for example) and the production. The advantage is that both parties only have 1 point of contact – the Rotterdam Film Commission.
If complex or longer periods of filming are needed we first get into a conversation with that production. We make clear what the needs are for this production. Next we get into a process with the city to see how we can realize these wished. The Rotterdam Film Commission coordinates this process and advises both the city as the production.
Do you see any trends or locations which are popular in Rotterdam?
Well, the bridges and tunnels are always in high demand. BUt also the harbor, the skyscrapers and skyline remain popular. You do see that the ‘new’ locations are popular like the Market hall, the new Central Station and the “luchtsingel”.
Does Rotterdam approach producers too or are there other ways Rotterdam tries to be noticed?
The focus of the Rotterdam Film Commission is about promoting our services. Rotterdam doesn’t have a budget available to acquire film and TV productions. There is also no financing available to support them. So when it comes to filming we really are strong as a “location” city. That means good service, being knowledgeable and to be a trustworthy partner. To show the strength and diversity of Rotterdam, we have made a brochure. The National Film Commissioner takes that to film festivals and location conferences. Both national and international. We also have a trailer which makes the diversity and potential of Rotterdam as a location city.
This trailer is also shown on the screens of the stand the National Film Commissioner has. We also try to be visible online. We are present on popular online film platforms and have an Instagram channel.
On the Rotterdam festivals site you can find a long list of productions which were made in Rotterdam. What are some of your personal favorites and why?
Personal favorites are productions where a lot of people from Rotterdam work on. Movies like “de Marathon” and “Toen was geluk heel gewoon”. It’s easy to work with people from Rotterdam. But my heart starts to beat faster when watching car commercials. It’s those that give a great idea of the potential of Rotterdam . Both in locations as professionalism and reliability. An international production really has to have a lot of trust in a city in order to go there. So it’s important to handle quickly straight from day 1. To be clear about the possibilities, to have agreements with all parties involved and make things possible. So in short it is a very intensive process. But when the commercial has been shot and the end result is shown all over the world, it’s a great result for all the effort that went into it.
Are there any films which ended up surprising you in the way they managed to show Rotterdam in a way you hadn’t seen before?
Not really films. The Vodafone commercials did though. By now Vodafone has already shot five commercials in Rotterdam. And they manage to show a different side to Rotterdam each time. Because of that there is a dynamic image of a versatile, accessible city. Less tough and gray as a lot of productions shown the city before.
What is the weirdest request you ever received about filming in Rotterdam?
We constantly have strange requests and have gotten used to weird ones. Tanks which wanted to shoot tennis balls on the Coolsingel. Lama’s in the Maastunnel. Wild horses in the Weena tunnel. A flying bird of prey with a camera attached to its body. Parachute landing on “de kop van Zuid”. Maasboulevard in the snow. Danny de Munk as Judas on the pillar of the Erasmus bridge. The band Kane tied to the movable part of the Hef bridge, in the middle of the night during winter. Busses, cars and caravans exploding. Removing traffic obstacles. Filling the Wilheminapier with foam for a commercial, which was a lot of work.
Throwing basketballs from the Euromast into a basket near the Japanese teahouse. That’s also a request which I still remember.
Besides movies which have a link to Rotterdam, what are some of your personal favorite movies?
Movies are an experience, where images, actors, music and script come together. It’s hard not to relate that to Rotterdam.
But my favorite movie has to be Lost in Translation. That feeling is also present in our trailer. That anonymous, large city, detached quality is something I love. Especially in film.