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Spaniards in frenzy to be Game of Thrones extras

Spain is in a frenzy of anticipation ahead of auditions for extras in Games of Thrones scenes to be filmed on location this summer.

Spaniards in frenzy to be Game of Thrones extras
Extras from Game of Thrones during filming last year in Osuna. Photo: AFP

Extras will be sought for crowd scenes for Season Six of the blockbuster fantasy drama when it is filmed on location in Girona, Catalonia and Peñiscola, Valencia.

Ten amazing reasons to visit Girona

Although no official announcement has yet been made about when and where the auditions will be held, social media is already buzzing in anticipation.

The latest rumour is that two days of audtions for extras will be held at a conference centre in Almeria on July 9th and 10th.

The news was leaked to local Almeria paper Ideal which claimed that HBO was also considering adding some locations in Almeria for filming.

But Modexpor International Casting, a company based in Malaga southern Spain company charged with supplying extras for Games of Thrones refused to confirm the plans.

“When we are authorized by HBO we will of course announce auditions for extras but people will just have to wait until that happens,” a spokesman at their office told The Local.

“We can’t yet say when and where but promise that all will be made public with an announcement on our facebook page when the time is right,” she said.

The company has implored wannabe extras not to contact them directly trying to get an early audition. “Like last year, we are not looking for actors. The casting of actors has already been done in London,” the company pleads on its Facebook page.  

“So please do not send portfolios, photographs or CVs to our office or saturate our switchboard with requests.”

Hundreds of people have commented on the post asking for infomation about how to apply.

Last year, when scenes from Season Five were shot in Seville and Osuna, the company asked for specific characteristics. Of the 2,500 extras sought, producers were recruiting slim males willing to grow beards and long-haired females. Those with visible tattoos were turned away.

The castings this year will be closed with a tight selection process planned. Last year a staggering 55,000 people applied for the auditions and scammers capitalized on the popularity defrauding hopefuls with a fake hotline.

 

 

 

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FILMS

Berlinale to host outdoor festival for film fans in June

Organisers of the Berlin film festival said Monday that pandemic conditions in the German capital had improved enough for them to hold a planned outdoor edition in June.

Berlinale to host outdoor festival for film fans in June
An empty area outside the Berlinale Palast in March 2020. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Paul Zinken

The coronavirus outbreak forced the Berlinale, one of Europe’s top cinema showcases, to push back its usual February event and split it into two parts.

It held an all-online edition for critics and industry buyers in March and will now press on with an exclusively outdoor festival for the general public June 9th-20th.

“The Berlinale is pleased to be able to give audiences the enjoyment of an open-air cinema experience at 16 venues in total at the Summer Special,” it said in a statement.

It said Berlin’s falling infection rate “as well as positive signals by government offices” had led to the decision.

“Audiences will be getting a very special, collective festival experience – something we’ve all been missing for such a long time,” organisers said.

The June edition “is geared towards re-igniting the desire to go to the cinema, and to contributing to the revival of cultural activities with an audience”.

READ ALSO: Germany holds virtual Berlinale film fest

The programme will be made up primarily of movies shown online at the March edition, including the winners of its Golden and Silver Bear prizes, which will be awarded at a gala ceremony on June 13th.

Existing open-air cinemas throughout the city as well as a specially created site on Berlin’s historic Museum Island will serve as venues and comply with pandemic hygiene rules.

Ticket sales will begin on May 27th.

The global coronavirus outbreak has dealt a body blow to the cinema industry and created major complications for film distribution and production for over a year.

Cannes, the world’s top film festival, usually held in May, has been postponed to July 6-17 this year due to the pandemic and was cancelled outright last year.

The Berlinale, now in its 71st year, awarded its Golden Bear top prize in March to the biting social satire “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn” by Romania’s Radu Jude.

The city of Berlin on Monday reported a seven-day coronavirus incidence just over the 100-mark, meaning cinemas, restaurants and other facilities remain closed.

However, officials are hopeful that an accelerating vaccination campaign and tightened lockdown measures will bring infections down soon, allowing for an at least partial reopening.

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