| A chance encounter between a musician and a film maker at a travel fair in Berlin in March 2008 at the Sri Lankan stall has led to a major film being shot in Sri Lanka and to be aired to an audience of over 12 million next year in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
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| Picture shows Dirk and Renton de Alwis, former Sri Lanka Tourism Chairman, at the Sri Lankan stall in Berlin in March 2008 |
Dirk Glabner, lead singer of the German band ‘Mavericks’ who performed countless times in Sri Lanka at the Country Roads charity concerts, was playing at the Sri Lankan stall at the fair when he was introduced by a friend to a man who worked for a German TV station. Dirk convinced the man to accompany the band on their last visit to Sri Lanka and report on the ‘beautiful country’.
Dirk has been performing at the Country Road Concerts in Sri Lanka for the past 16 years and has been to beautiful hotels as well as places of interest. “I was able to convince them at once that Sri Lanka is the place for their next series,” he said.
Shafraz Farook from the Destination Social Responsibility unit of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) said the film crew from Dream Hotels, which is a German/Austrian production, was in Sri Lanka filming at different locations such as the Mount Lavinia Hotel and several sites in Galle. “The crew sets themselves in the local surroundings in different countries. They take up local roles such as hotel managers and create a story around that,” he said. “It’s good for us because they see Sri Lanka through the eyes of Germans because the actors are German.” The crew left last week.
The SLTPB is hoping to capitalize on this by promoting Sri Lanka as a movie location. In fact, a Chinese tea commercial was recently shot on the island. Certain parts of the Indian movie Victory were also shot here and the premiere was recently held at the Liberty Cinema. | 
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