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loods 20 - © Jo Van hende
plains. ‘we saw their lives at home with their kids, with their partners, and
since the main characters lived in ghent there was a kind of symbiosis
between them and the city.’
ISOLATED LOCATIONS
locations and events in the city drove the storylines. ‘at the beginning of
every season we sat down with the screenwriters and said: what do we
want in the series, what activities, what festivals? what part of the city
can we use to tell a story?’ as a ghent resident himself, schmid thought
he wouldn’t have an inquisitive enough eye to scout locations, so the job
was given to an outsider. ‘he came up with locations that you see a lot,
but you don’t know what’s behind the facade,’ he recalls. these included
vooruit, a grand public meeting hall from the early 20th century that is
now a cultural centre, and the oude vismijn, a baroque fish market. ‘a
beautiful building, but totally in decay,’ says schmid.
the scout also discovered an old winter circus in the middle of the city
that few people knew about, which is now being renovated as a media
centre. these derelict or isolated locations were particularly useful. ‘places
in decay are always beautiful on the screen,’ says schmid. and in cop
Bijloke Abbey - © Stad gent - Patrick henry
shows, people are always looking for somewhere to hide out. ‘we would
use them quite a lot to end an episode.’
NICE ATMOSPHERE
Flikken also made use of events in the city, from the Floraliën flower show,
which only takes place every five years, to the annual Flanders international
Film Festival and weekly fixtures such as football matches. ‘we did
wide shots on the actual football match,’ schmid recalls, ‘and the close
ups when everyone had gone, along with 100 extras.’ above all it’s the
historic city centre that schmid likes best. ‘with the old port, it has such
a nice atmosphere and it’s so beautiful when you see it on the screen,
at day or at night. it looks as if it is designed to be filmed. it has bridges,
water and terraces. and there are always people sitting around.’ while the
series had to have a special relationship with the local police force, this
was characteristic of a city at home with the film industry. ‘the inhabitants
are very understanding, and it’s very easy to obtain licences to film difficult
locations,’ schmid says. ‘not everything is possible - you have to keep in
mind that this is a city where people live and work - but really it’s a very
easy city to shoot in.’
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leie - © Stad gent
Port of ghent © Bart Dewaele