Romania resumes filming with no quarantine

Romania has resumed local production filming and international producers can return to the country without the need for quarantining for film crews.

The newly created Romanian Producers Alliance, co-founded by leading production service providers Alien Films (Killing Eve, Alex Rider), has worked on filming protocols and rules with the ministry of health and ministry of culture for productions shooting in the country. "The rules are not very restrictive but we are going to respect the ones that international productions will require, the ones that please the producers," Oana Prata, managing partner at Alien Films tells KFTV.

Romania offers beautiful locations, experienced crew, good studios and an impressive incentive worth up to 45%.

Recent projects to shoot in the country include Lionsgate’s sci-fi thriller Voyagers, starring Colin Farrell; Universal’s action adventure film Dragonheart Vengeance, starring Helena Bonham Carter; Thunder Road’s thriller Violence of Action, starring Chris Pine; Sony Television’s series Alex Rider; and Millennium Films’ The Asset, starring Samuel L. Jackson.

Sid Gentle/BBC America have also shot their popular series Killing Eve in Romania, including in the capital city, Bucharest, dubbed ‘the Paris of the East’, doubling it for Moscow and indeed Paris. “Bucharest is not exactly a hidden gem because everyone knows it’s there, but it’s definitely under exploited,” says Lee Morris, managing director of Sid Gentle and executive producer of Killing Eve. “We’ve found it easy to film there and had a lot of help from the authorities, particularly the mayor’s office who have smoothed the way for us in all the things you need, in terms of parking in the city centre, closing a road if you need to and generally helping us with permissions of locations.”

For season three they also shot in a village called Viscri, about three and a half hours from Bucharest, which doubled for Poland. “It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site and has a really magical, special flavour to it,” says Morris. “Romania is a very versatile location.”

Locations

Indeed, this is one of the main attractions for producers. Dragonheart Vengeance filmed at the Râșnov Fortress, the volcanic crater in Racoș, and Bran Castle, commonly known as Dracula’s castle. While The Asset also filmed in the beautiful capital city.

Bucharest’s stand-out features include the vast parliament building, evocative old streets, castles, palaces and medieval villages. There are also Soviet-era eyesores and abandoned industrial estates that can make interesting backdrops.

There are plenty of other great locations across Romania that can double for other countries. “For example, the mountains resemble the Swiss Alps, the Eastern side of Romania can simulate Wild West landscapes, the forests are similar to the ones from Germany, and the Transfăgărășan road resembles St Gotthard Pass in Switzerland, Stelvio Pass in Italy or the Trollstigen in Norway,” says Giuliano Doman, executive producer at local outfit Family Film.

Producers can expect to have permits arranged within about 48 hours for most locations, while shutting streets in Bucharest can take a few days longer.