Arka Mukhopadhyay
Miguel Alexandre creates a world of brooding intrigue in Netflix’s German-language original erotic thriller ‘Black Island’ (Originally titled: ‘Schwarze Insel’). The suspenseful drama takes the audience to an eerie island to present a tale of betrayal and revenge. The story follows Jonas in his journey of coming of age. After the accidental death of local German teacher Mr. Maineke (Jonas’ father), a new teacher arrives in the close-knit community of the island township. Jonas embarks upon an affair with his new teacher Helena, but her pursuit makes Jonas realize a damning truth about his own family.
The island setting gives the story an ominous makeover, which evokes contradictory senses of community and claustrophobia. In the story, no one is completely believable, and things are often not what they seem. Set against the barren backdrop of the island, the cynical story gets another dimension of eeriness. The lush backdrop is bound to make you wonder about the locations where the movie was filmed. In that case, let us take you back to the foggy island.
Black Island Filming Locations
‘Black Island’ was filmed in its entirety in and around locations in Germany, in October and November 2020. The story is set on the titular island, and the director took his crew to film most parts of the movie on a real island.
Due to changes in the tax incentive structure, Germany is becoming a booming production hub with several Netflix titles taking their teams to the country. Over the years, the funding cap has increased from 4 million Euros to 12 million Euros, attracting bigger productions to the territory. Now, let’s go through the specific locations where the film was shot!
Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
The majority of the sequences were filmed in Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost of the 16 states that make up Germany. The director took his cast and crew to the Amrum Island (also known as Oomram), one of the North Frisian Islands by the German North Sea.
Most of the movie was filmed in and around the island, whose solitude works perfectly as a stage for the tale of revenge. Due to the outbreak of the second wave of the Coronavirus epidemic, the production members had to quarantine themselves, and they were trapped on the island for six weeks.
The crew filmed sequences in the Nebel municipality in the middle section of the island. Some drone shots showcase the serene natural beauty of the island, while nature also comes off as threatening in the movie. In some scenes, viewers can identify Leuchtturm Amrum, a Lighthouse situated at Tanenwai 46A, in the Nebel municipality of the island.
Berlin, Germany
Additionally, some interior sequences were filmed in the German capital city of Berlin. An early sequence of a car accident was filmed on the mainland. A city fraught with cultural and historical intrigue, Berlin is a filming location coveted by filmmakers. Every year, several productions flock to the city from all over the world. From the classic horror movie ‘Possession’ to the ‘Bridge of Spies,’ Berlin has proved to be a fertile ground for filming time and again.
Read More: Black Island Ending, Explained
