Greek Archaeology Body Says ‘No’ to BBC Series Sounion Shoot

The Temple of Poseidon, Cape Sounion.

In less than a week and amid pledges of attractive cash incentives to lure film productions to Greece,  the Central Archaeological Council (KAS) turned down a request by BBC to film its “The Little Drummer Girl” series at the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.

The General Secretary for Media & Communication, Lefteris Kretsos was quick to react, slamming the KAS for “its refusal to approve of the BBC shooting without examining potential alternative solutions”, adding in a statement that it demonstrates an “ailing mentality”.

Sounio

The six-part mini-series based on John le Carré’s best-selling espionage masterpiece, will be financed and produced by The Ink Factory in partnership with 127 Wall and co-producers the BBC and AMC. Directed by filmmaker Park Chan-wook, “The Little Drummer Girl” is currently shooting across Europe.

Greece’s KAS did not approve of issuing a filming permit for a one-day shoot at Sounion citing the large number of crew, the heavy production equipment and the day-long duration which would impact the daily visitation of the archaeological site.

It should be noted that a number of KAS members did suggest shooting take place over two days, or when the site was closed to the public. Attending the meeting, a production crew member said there usually was little inconvenience in similar cases and added that the company was willing to pay the admission ticket for those who would decide to leave.

Meanwhile, producers were given the green light to film parts of the same series at the Acropolis, during evening hours when the site is closed.

At the same time, the digital policy ministry decision to allocate some 75 million euros, set to reach 375 million euros in the coming years, as an incentive to bring film productions to Greece, was published in the Government Gazette on Wednesday.