One of the most popular filming locations in London is the UNESCO Heritage Site of Greenwich. Greenwich is a borough of London but really, it is a small town unto itself, located six miles up the River Thames.
 
Once the home of English royalty, Greenwich has a history that reaches back through Roman times to the pre-historic, with ancient barrow (or burial) mounds still visible. Greenwich is perhaps best known though for being the symbolic home of Greenwich Mean Time, it is here where the Prime Meridian passes through London and for which the time denomination was named.
 
Among the many films that were made in Greenwich are Eastern Promises (2007), Dorian Gray (2009), The Young Victoria (2009), The Golden Compass (2007), The Duchess (2008), The World Is Not Enough (1999), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Highlander (1986), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Patriot Games (1992) and The Madness of King George (1994).

You may recall that in our 2 Day guide to the northern Spanish city of San Sebastián, we warned against planning your trip during the yearly International Film Festival. Well, for all those looking to ingratiate themselves into the glamor of the Continental film world, here’s your guide to one of the most majestic festivals this side of the English Channel.

 

Your first job, once you decide to attend the festival, is to book a hotel. Unlike in much of Spain where it is possible to simply show-up in a town and find a room, in San Sebastián during festival time, booking a hotel a few months ahead of time is essential.
 
Tickets go on sale to the public for all screenings online and at the box office five days before the start of the festival and there is a four ticket limit per person.
 
Since 1986, the festival has given out the Donostia Award to one person who has made a significant impact on film. For 2010, it was Julia Roberts whose film Eat Pray Love, co-starring Spanish superstar Javier Bardem, premiered at the festival. Donostia is the Basque name for San Sebastián. There will be opportunities to snap photos of award winners and celebrities along the main promenade overlooking the beach in the center of town.
 
One of the best things to do in San Sebastián is eat, and you don’t need to go out for fancy meals either. Around early evening, head to the old part of town to participate in txikiteo- a pintxos (or small appetizer) crawl. The atmosphere is casual and the food unexpectedly delicious.
 
San Sebastián Tourism Office
Boulevard 8, 20003 Donostia-San Sebastián – +34 943 48 11 66

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Ever since 2003 when Dan Brown published his international sensation The Da Vinci Code, fans and conspiracy theorist have been flocking to Rosslyn Chapel outside of Edinburgh, Scotland. The chapel plays a pivotal role in the book and the film starring Tom Hanks, which came out in 2006 and since then, tourism to the site has risen by 56% making it one of the most visited places in Scotland.
 
Rosslyn Chapel, originally named the Collegiate Chapel of St. Matthew, is a 15th-century church in the village of Roslin, seven miles from Edinburgh. The chapels intricate and sometimes mysteries carvings have led to many rumors about the true purpose of the builders. Many associated the chapel with the Freemason and The Knights Templar. Some of these carvings are called the ‘musical’ boxes, a series of intricate carvings in a sequence of 213 cubes or boxes protruding from pillars and arches with a selection of patterns on them.

Rumors also abound about the chapel’s crypt, a subterranean vault which has been said to contain any one of the following: the mummified head of Jesus Christ, the Holy Grail, the treasure of the Templars, or the original crown jewels of Scotland.
 
Though many fasilites abound in Brown’s The Da Vinci code about the chapel, such as “Rosslyn” is a form of the term Rose Line, and that a line starting in France also runs through the Chapel but which scholars point out that the name “Rosslyn” is most likely derived from two Celtic words: “ros”, meaning promontory or point, and “lyn”, meaning waterfall, it is a fascinating place to spend a day at away from Edinburgh.
 
Access: The LRT Number 15 bus comes into Roslin seven days a week from Edinburgh. The journey time is approx 30 mins. The Bus travels along Princes Street in Edinburgh, up Lothian Road and then out through Bruntsfield.
 
Rosslyn Chapel
Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9PU, United Kingdom‎ – 0131 440 2155‎

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Focusing on the lives of non-racist and nationalist northern English skinheads in 1983, the 2006 film This is England by Shane Meadows opened to wide critical acclaim, making many ‘Best of’ lists for the year. Now four years later, Meadows is revisiting the characters he made famous in a four part TV sequel entitled This Is England ‘86. The sequel finds the characters three years after the film ended, in the midst of the World Cup and on the precipice of many life changes: “As Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) sits his last school exam, the realisation dawns that adulthood beckons and in mid-80s England he’s going to have to find his own way in the world. Luckily life has dealt a surprise hand to his friends too and no one is quite where they thought they would be. Woody, Lol, Smell, Gadget, Milky – they are all looking for love, a laugh, a job and something that resembles a future.”
 
The first episode of the brand new four-part serial will be previewed at the Showroom, Sheffield on Thursday 2 September, attended by cast including Thomas Turgoose, Vicky McClure, Andrew Shim and Joe Gilgun with a special introduction by director Shane Meadows. Much of the film was made in the Gleadless Valley area of Sheffield and will premiere on BBC4 next month.

Not often does something started by a horrible dictator result in years of prosperity and art but Cinecittà Studios is that exception. Opened in April of 1937 by Mussolini in order to promote Italy and fascism with the slogan “Il cinema è l’arma più forte” (Cinema is the most powerful weapon), Cinecittà Studio is now the largest production studio in continental Europe. Located in south-east Rome, “the studio was designed as a complete center of production, with facilities covering everything from training, through the production of films, to post-production.”

During World War II, Cinecittà saw heavy bombing from the Allies and was evacuated but after the war ended, the 1950s heralded in the studio’s heyday with American production companies finding the facility a cheap place to shoot. Films such as Ben Hur, Cleopatra, Roman Holiday and Three Coins were shot there and it became the home base for Federico Fellini where he made La dolce vita and Satyricon.
 
Today Cinecittà continues to be a bustling studio, recently hosting the films The Gangs of New York and the HBO series Rome. Of Cinecittà and filming there, Martin Scorsese said “I’ve always felt that Cinecittà has a special magic because of all the great films that have been made there. For the many years that I had been thinking about GANGS OF NEW YORK, I always imagined it would be created with an aspect of the Italian artistry that I saw and experienced in Italian films when I was growing up.”
 
“The studio is closed to the public, although it occasionally opens for tours. There are plans to open a full studio tour, along with a theme park called Cinecittà World, at some point in the near future.”
 
Cinecittà Studios
Via Tuscolana 1055, 00173 Roma – Italia

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