Written by on Apr 19, 2011. Posted in On Location

Olivier-René Veillon discusses Île de France Location Expo

The Location Guide is a partner at the Île de France Location Expo in Paris on April 28th and 29th 2011, which showcases the locations available to filmmakers in the region. Olivier-René Veillon is Executive Director of the Île de France Film Commission.

Île de France - which includes Paris - has attracted an impressive collection of international filmmakers in recent times, including Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen. Veillon puts this down partly to Paris’ cultural heritage.

There are lots of iconic landmarks in Île de France such as Le Louvre and the Palace of Versailles and these places are as popular for the artists of today as they have been historically.

Olivier-René Veillon, Executive Director, Île de France Film Commission

He said: “The region offers a universal cultural appeal. It’s the impressionists’ region and has been popular throughout history. There are lots of iconic landmarks such as Le Louvre and the Palace of Versailles and these places are as popular for the artists of today as they have been historically.”

Despite the region’s cultural appeal and international reputation, it’s a relatively recent development that’s seen a shift to making Paris more film-friendly. The Palace of Versailles is now available for filming and the commission is making sure that location filming policies and fees are clear and reasonable.

Veillon says of the Expo itself: “A very varied cross-section of city departments is represented, including the SNCF transport system that offers lots of filming options. Alongside the better known historical sites there’s also the City University that has a lot of varied architecture.”

The Île de France Film Commission recognises the importance of forging relationships with the international industry. At the moment it runs development partnerships with organisations like the Writer’s Guild of America and Paris is becoming a popular workplace for Chinese and Asian producers.

Île de France - which includes Paris - has attracted an impressive collection of international filmmakers in recent times, including Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen.

Veillon concludes: “We’re establishing a relationship with Asian filmmakers. They have a great interest in the impressionists’ movement as well, so they come to France regularly to scout locations and to do post-production work.”

Ewa Ravenka, who runs TLG’s Film Friendly Locations section, will be part of our team at the Expo. As our FFL database continues to grow, we’ve added London’s majestic Alexandra Palace, which Clint Eastwood recently visited for Hereafter. There’s also Pippingford Park, 35 miles south of central London. This is in the centre of Ashdown Forest and has hosted high-profile productions such as Centurion, Flyboys and Steven Spielberg’s World War II miniseries Band of Brothers.