Mauritius to host its first major feature film

The island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean is set to host a major new Hollywood film later this year.

As first reported on Deadline, Mauritius will provide the backdrop to Serenity, a thriller about a fishing boat captain whose past threatens his sense of reality on a small Caribbean island. The feature will star Matthew McConaughey, Uma Thurman and Anne Hathaway.

Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders and co-writer of Taboo, will direct from his own screenplay. Guy Heely of Shoebox Films in the UK produces alongside Greg Shapiro of IM Global.

Mauritius offers a robust infrastructure of transport and accommodation as tourism plays a big part in the island’s economy. In 2013, the country set up its own film tax incentive programme, worth 30% of qualifying Mauritian spend.

The aim is to establish co-production treaties on the back of the scheme over the coming years, so the new high-profile film should provide a boost of interest. The island nation also has its own film office, the Mauritius Film Development Corporation which assists in the logistics of domestic and international shoots heading to the region.

For more on filming in Mauritius, click here.