Written by Kianna Best on Mar 8, 2024. Posted in Production News

Netflix’s Damsel shoots in London and Portugal

Milly Bobby-Brown starrer Damsel has arrived at Netflix today. A tale of twists and turns, the fairy-tale subversive flick took to London and Portugal for the filming of the staggering scenes and explosive battle sequences. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo takes the lead on the project from scriptwriter Dan Mazeau.

Damsel is no fairy tale, following Elodie, played by Brown, sacrificed to a dragon by her Prince Charming  to satisfy an ancient debt. But whilst Elodie is very far from a damsel in distress, the locations used for filming definitely add to the fantasy. Fighting her battles alone, Elodie must snake her way the monster’s lair and cave system. The dark winding maze was built on set at London’s Troubadour Meridian Water Studio, providing an immersive experience for Brown and the audience’s alike.

The 65,000 square foot facility provided ample space for bringing the VFX based scenes to life, as well as the impressive set construction that made the fantastical world tangible. Facilitated by production designer Patrick Tatopoulos, cinematographer Larry Fong, VFX supervisor Nigel Denton-Howe, and of course the direction of Fresnadillo, Brown remarked to Netflix that the built environment “felt so real” as she maneuvered through the tight quarters.

Providing the fairy tale like natural settings for the filming of Damsel, Portugal provided and array of locations. Capillas Imperfectas, the castle of Batalha makes a feature in the fantastical flick. Backdropped by towering structures and rolling hills, filming location Tomar was an optimal choice, known for its Manueline castles and convents alongside the village locations and mountain ranges of Sortelha,

The cast for Damsel, for which Brown is also an executive producer, includes Oscar-nominated actress Angela Bassett (Black Panther) , Emmy-nominated House of Cards star Robin Wright as well as Ray Winstone (Black Widow), Nick Robinson (A Teacher), Brooke Carter (Close to Me) and Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Expanse).

Images courtesy of John Wilson/Netflix