Netflix features Spetses, while Amazon Prime shoots in Athens

Filming for Amazon Prime France’s new series, “Greek Salad,” scheduled to premiere next year, began in Athens last week.

A sequel to popular French films “L’Auberge Espanole” (The Spanish Apartment), “Les Poupées Russes” (Russian Dolls) and “Casse-tête Chinois” (The Chinese Puzzle), which were all released between 2002 and 2013, the new series will reportedly explore themes similar to that of the films, while following the children of two of the original characters as they spend time in Athens.

“It is a series of 8 episodes that will be shown next year. The total cost of the production is around 8 million euros and it will be shot entirely in Athens, with scenes from all over the city,” Athens Film Office Director Stathis Kalogeropoulos told AMNA.

“Greek Salad” will be available for streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime, but they’re not the only production company that have chosen Greece as the setting for their stories lately. Since March 2020, over 70 Greek and foreign productions have been completed in the country, while another five are currently underway, according to newspaper Kathimerini. The international film industry has been rediscovering Greece, much thanks to the reformed framework of incentives for movie production in the country.

Another reminder of Greece’s entry onto the world film stage came on Thursday with the release of Netflix’s global teaser campaign for releases coming in 2022. Just before the end of the three-minute video, which shows characters on set at various films looking into the camera and speaking to the targeted audience Annie Hall-style, the camera zooms into a view of the island of Spetses. The cast of Knives Out 2 (including Daniel Craig and Kate Hudson) turn and look suspensefully into the lens. Meanwhile another film shot on the island, The Lost Daughter, is has been generating Oscar buzz, so we might well be seeing a lot more of this Saronic island soon (the nominations for this year’s academy awards are expected on Tuesday, February 8).

This article first appeared in Greece Is (www.greece-is.com), a Kathimerini publishing initiative.