History

The British BBC and American HBO channels chose Flandes as the location to film their new series set in the First World War. In Vorselaar, the beautiful castle town in the heart of the Antwerp Kempen, the water lock De Borrekens still boasts sections built in the thirteenth century. This is the location for the five-part miniseries 'Parade’s End', a British-American-Belgian collaboration written by Tom Stoppard, known for screenplays like 'Shakespeare in Love'. The series will be screened on VRT late in 2012. The gracious lock, closed to the public, will serve as a Scottish castle, hunting lodge and German spa resort. Martin Dewitte, responsible for the Belgian side of the production, convinced the filmmakers to choose Flanders for many of its locations and the camera crew has so far shot in Veurne, Nieuwpoort (West Flanders) and Aalter (East Flanders). Vorselaar was chosen as the location for a 1912 scene. “The production team is most satisfied with Belgium and are already sad to think they may have to leave to film in England,” smiles Dewitte. Of the 84 days on location, 35 days were spent filming in Belgium, with 4,5 million euros of the total budget of 14 million euros allocated to filming in this country.