Ipek A. Celik Rappas, a scholar in film and media studies, discusses the intricate labor behind filming in European cities. She highlights the challenges of transforming spaces, like factories into war zones, to meet the demands of the streaming industry. The conversation uncovers the often-invisible work of location scouts and its socio-economic implications, as well as ethical concerns surrounding representation. Celik Rappas advocates for sustainable practices in media production and emphasizes the importance of giving voice to marginalized communities.
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insights INSIGHT
Invisible Labor of Location
Location labor is hidden but crucial in making screen locations look effortless.
Locations are crafted and negotiated, not just found, involving creative and physical work.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Location Scouts: Complex Roles
Location scouts find, manage, and transform places while balancing director's creative demands and logistics.
Scouts often work unpaid in pre-production and face tough conditions, including personal safety risks.
insights INSIGHT
Cities Rebrand via Filming
Post-conflict and post-industrial cities rebrand through screen production to attract investment.
Run-down sites and low-income neighborhoods become valuable due to aesthetics and affordability for filming.
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Ipek A. Celik Rappas's "Filming in European Cities: The Labor of Location" offers a behind-the-scenes look at the labor involved in creating film and television locations. The book explores the various roles and efforts required to transform urban spaces into functional screen settings, highlighting the often-invisible work of location scouts, art directors, and other crew members. It examines the economic and social impacts of screen production on cities and communities, including both the potential benefits and the potential for exploitation. The author uses case studies from five European cities to illustrate the complexities of location-based filmmaking, challenging viewers to consider the labor and impact behind the scenes. The book concludes with a call for a more sustainable and ethical screen industry.
Securing Peace in Angola and Mozambique
Securing Peace in Angola and Mozambique
Miranda Melcher
Filming in European Cities: The Labor of Location (Cornell University Press, 2025) explores the effort behind creating screen production locations. Dr. Ipek A. Celik Rappas accounts the rising demand for original and affordable locations for screen projects due to the growth of streaming platforms. As a result, screen professionals are repeatedly tasked with chores such as transforming a former factory in Istanbul to resemble a war zone in Aleppo, or finding a London street that evokes Barcelona.
Dr. Celik Rappas highlights the pivotal role crew members play in transforming cities and locations into functional screen settings. Examining five European media capitals—Athens, Belfast, Berlin, Istanbul, and Paris—the book delves into the overlooked aspects of location-related screen labor and its ability to generate production value. Filming in European Cities demonstrates that in its perpetual quest for authentic filming locations, the screen industry extracts value from cities and neighborhoods, their marginalized residents, and screen labor, enriching itself through this triple exploitation.
This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts.
New Books in Critical Theory