Ralph Fiennes directs The White Crow in Serbia

A forthcoming biopic of Soviet ballet star Rudolf Nureyev will film largely in Serbia, with other locations including Russia and France.

Ralph Fiennes is at the helm to direct The White Crow which begins principal photograph at the end of this week.

David Hare has written the screenplay which explores the life of the dancer who famously defected to the West in 1961.

Gabrielle Tana of Magnolia Mae Films is among the producers on the film, working alongside Montebello Productions and BBC Films.

Screen reported earlier this year that Fiennes will also play Nureyev’s teacher and mentor, Pushkin, in the feature, with professional dancer Oleg Ivenko lined up to portray the iconic Nureyev.

Fiennes has experience of filming in Serbia – in 2010 he shot his directorial debut, Coriolanus (pictured), for around two months in Belgrade, one of the oldest cities in south-east Europe. The production gave a significant profile boost to Serbia as a film-friendly destination, with authorities allowing Fiennes special filming access to the national parliament and city hall.

More recently, the pilot for Syfy’s TV drama Krypton – a kind of prequel to the Superman story- also filmed in Serbia.

The country has a dedicated film commission and offers a filming incentive in the form of a 20% cash rebate on qualifying local spend for international features, TV series, commercials and visual effects work. Head over to our production guide for more on filming in Serbia.