Costa Blanca turned into big screen war-zone
Top British director uses locations in Alicante province for new film
IN the international trailer for Guy Ritchie’s new movie The Covenant, the British director of Snatch and The Gentlemen puts the town of Villajoyosa and other places in Alicante province centre stage.
Several local areas were used as locations for many of the outdoor scenes, with the rugged terrain serving as a credible substitute for Afghanistan, where this story of war and redemption is set.
Originally titled The Interpreter, it is inspired by real events related to the evacuation of US troops from Afghanistan in August 2021, and the script – by Ritchie himself with Ivan Atkinson and Marn Davies – was developed with input from the testimonies of several soldiers.
Starring Oscar-winning actor Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain), the plot centres on his character, Sergeant John Kinley, whose patrol is ambushed but he is rescued by their local interpreter Ahmed, played by Iraq-born actor Dar Salim (Game of
Thrones). However, once he is safely back in the US, Kinley learns that Ahmed and his family were not given passage to America as promised, so he returns to the war zone to repay his debt by saving Ahmed and his family from the local militias.
Villajoyosa mayor Andreu
Verdú said he was ‘naturally proud’ that the town continues to form part of major national and international film productions, which he said see ‘a rich scenario of cinematic opportunities’ in its ‘wide variety of interior, coastal and urban settings’.
He also assured the municipality’s ‘climate and hospitality meet the expectations of the large family which comprises a production of this calibre’.
Productions with such talented actors and famous names ‘attract the interest of curious people’ and the media, so ‘it is vital to tread carefully during the production so that the team can do their work more easily’, the mayor assured.
Since they usually film in tourist hot-spots, ‘it is not easy to keep these productions secret’, but with ‘mutual understanding between the municipal and production teams’ they can ‘work comfortably’, he claimed.
More than 40 productions, including adverts, music videos, TV series and programmes, and movies have been made in Villajoyosa over the last four years.
Sr Verdú thanked the town hall’s local film office for their work and assured they will ‘continue attracting new productions’ which ‘show to the world the beautiful places and multiple possibilities that Villajoyosa can offer’.
The trailer says Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant will open in US cinemas on April 21 and it is expected to follow suit in Spain.
Read about the work of Jávea’s film office on page 11.
awatkins@cbnews.es