How did you become involved in the hotel business? After 4 years of studying at University I graduated with a Hospitality Management degree. My first role was Reception Manager in a luxury 5-star boutique hotel in Glasgow, One Devonshire Gardens which was famous for its celebrity clientel.
How did you become involved in the film business and what has been your career path that took you to become a location scout ? I became a location scout almost by accident! While I was still studying for my political science master’s degree, I got involved in the organisation of my university’s film festival. It was then I met film director Mia Hansen-Løve and was proposed an internship on Eden, the film she was working on at the time.
My journey in the tourism sector has been a very exciting and rewarding one. I was exposed to tourism and travel right from childhood. My father, who is my role model, always made sure we took out time to take part in game drives as well as visit different protected areas. These had a significant impact on my life.
I started in the film business straight from school in 1990 as a personal driver to the German actress Iris Berben. I also worked for her son, Oliver Berben, and with Constantin Film as a unit manager in 2000. My first job as a location scout was on Bookies in 2001. I had to find locations in Cologne, Germany, that could double for Philadelphia in the USA. I had found my profession!
I received my master’s degree from Boston University in Broadcast Journalism, focusing in documentary filmmaking and broadcast news. I worked in local television, theatre, radio and print media as a producer, presenter, actress and editor for over 20 years.
In early spring I scouted a gem of a location dubbed Iceland's best kept secret. The Westfjords is the country’s most remote region, and Europe’s most westerly point, and little known to filmmakers. Only one Hollywood picture, Justice League, has ever ventured there to shoot.
As the Director of the Vilnius Film Office, Jurate is at the heart of the Lithuania's relationship with the global production industry.
With an appealing climate, a cost effective economy and a film-friendly infrastructure to boot, Uruguay has enjoyed a fair amount of popular with productions of varying types. As the Executive Producer of one of Uruguay's leading production service companies, Andres Mailhos spoke to TLG about his experience of working in the South American country.