Take a look around the filming location at Vilnius University

Filming of the series "Sisi" by the German film production company "Story House Pictures GmbH", which belongs to the "Bavaria Film" group, has started in Vilnius, and will last through the summer. Several million euros are invested in Lithuania during filming, and almost 100 Lithuanians work in the international team. It is reported that due to the planned works in Vilnius, traffic will be restricted for a couple of days next week.  

Filmed in many famous locations

The main filming locations of the series in Lithuania are Vilnius and its surroundings, and filming is also taking place Beautiful, in Trakai, Užutrakki, Vievivi and Rokiški. On television screens, viewers will see the exterior of the Lithuanian National Philharmonic and Vilnius University architectural ensemble, which became the Hofburg Palace in the series - it was the similarity of these places to the royal palaces that attracted the creators of the series to film in Lithuania. Lithuanians will also recognize St. John the Baptist and St. John the Apostle and Evangelist Church, the premises of the Lithuanian Writers' Union, the Franciscan Monastery, the courtyard of the VU alumnat, Rokiškis and Užutrakis mansions, Trakai Castle and other famous places.

Filming of the "Sisi" series is taking place in three countries, two of them are the states of the Baltic region. It's no secret that Lithuania has been an attractive point in the global film industry for the last few years due to highly professional staff, convenient logistics, various architectural locations, tax incentives for cinema, etc. However, there is a big competitive battle for international Chinese projects in the global market - so that the project would take place in our region and it would be possible to implement the creative ideas of the series, Lithuanians cooperate with Latvians. We know that if the first season of the series is successful, the Germans will definitely return to film in Lithuania and Latvia next year as well," says Jūratė Pazikaitė, director of the Vilnius Film Office.

Filming works in Latvia, in Lithuania and Germany the duration is four months. The six-part mini-series will be broadcast by the German television channel RTL TV, the largest commercial television network in Germany.

The series will take you to XNUMXth century Austria

The film, produced by Story House Pictures GmbH, tells the story of the extraordinary life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria: a young and carefree princess falls in love with one of the most powerful men in the world. While at the side of the Austrian Emperor Francis Joseph, she must face the dark side of love and mature into an adult ruler who eventually becomes an icon, Sisi.

Sisi is a classic coming-of-age story. This is not a historical costume epic, but a series that embraces universal and timeless themes: love, freedom, family, self-determination and duty. It is intended for a broad, modern audience. Despite the series' thematic versatility, filming the XNUMXth century in the modern world is quite a challenge. For this reason, we are very grateful to all the cities and towns, all the historical locations that allow us to film, for their understanding and help," says Milda Leiputė, the production manager of "Sisi" filming works in Lithuania. 

The series depicts an era when fashionable women's dresses in Europe were extremely pompous and puffy. Interestingly, the lead actress of "Sisi" can't even fit on a bus with her clothes, so she is dressed up every day on the sets. This requires a lot of additional infrastructure at various filming locations.

"This is not the first time I have collaborated with Story House Pictures, but the production scale of this series is undoubtedly the largest. I couldn't say how many times it is bigger than the others - such things are sometimes not measured, but the biggest and most interesting challenges arise from the fact that the series is historical and requires solutions that create the appropriate atmosphere", says well-known film artist Algirdas Garbačiauskas.

A big team works

An international team of film industry professionals is working on the series "Sisi" in Vilnius: Latvians, Germans and Lithuanians. In this multinational team of more than 200 people, there are almost 100 Lithuanians: film artists, light and sound technicians, costume designers, tailors, make-up artists, stuntmen, special effects technicians, etc. Some of them will later go to work in Latvia and Germany.

"I feel great while filming here: the country, the city and the people are very nice. The cinema staff in Vilnius is friendly and highly motivated - this creates a great atmosphere in which it is a pleasure to film the series. It helps to inspire each other," says the director of the series, a well-known filmmaker in Germany Sven Bohse. 

Filming in Lithuania is organized by the film production company Nordic Productions UAB. The company also worked on the film "Siberian Upbringing", which starred famous Hollywood actors John Malkovich, Eleanor Tomlinson and Peter Stormare, and the popular Italian series "Anna Karenina".

The Vilnius Film Office informs about short-term traffic restrictions during filming:

• From June 11 9 o'clock until June 14 21 p.m. going on Vilnius University. June 14 7 a.m. to 22 p.m. St. Two car turrets are being built on Jono and Pilies streets for filming purposes. From June 10 12 o'clock until June 14 20 p.m. 20 parking spaces are reserved on Liejyklos Street, from June 10. 8 o'clock until June 14 22 p.m. 26 places are reserved in St. on Jono Street, from June 10. 12 o'clock until June 11 20 p.m. and from June 13 at 17 p.m. until June 14 21 p.m. are reserved in the 13-space parking lot on Gaono Street.
• June 24 9 o'clock without disturbing vehicle traffic, the preparatory filming work begins in Pasaž skersgatvi, Aušros Varta, Subačiaus, Šv. Kazimieros Streets and Jonas Basanavičius Square;
• June 25 12 o'clock until June 27 24 hours 15 parking spaces are reserved on Arklių street, 7 spaces on Pasažo skersgatvy, 6 spaces on Etmonų street and 15 spaces on Didižioja street.
• June 26 6 o'clock until June 27 24 hours during the filming, vehicle and pedestrian traffic is prohibited in the Pasaž cross street.
• June 26-27 7-24 hours During filming, vehicle traffic is prohibited in St. In the part of Kazimiero Street near Subačiaus Street (except for residents and serving transport).
• June 26-27 7-24 hours during the filming, vehicle traffic (except for residents and service vehicles) is prohibited on Subačius and Aušras Vartų Streets, pedestrian traffic is restricted for a short time (up to 5 minutes), and to provide an escort for the horses being taken to the filming location.

We ask drivers to be careful and apologize to residents for possible inconvenience.