Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games series has been an international mega success that has spawned an epic four-part film. Jumping out of our world into a sci-fi sphere of your own, you might not know that some of your real-world filming locations were in Germany. Director Francis Lawrence spoke about earlier filming in Atlanta, where many of the earlier films were shot, and how the latest film locations in Germany and France offered a different look. The dark authoritarian themes of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 reflect the political context and history of the city.
From May to June 2014, you could have seen the cast shooting around Berlin, or when they returned for the premiere on November 4, 2015 at the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz. A taut velvet rope holds back hundreds of fans of the star, Jennifer Lawrence (aka Katniss Everdeen) and the rest of the Hunger Games team. If you missed the chance to see them live, you can get even closer by watching the movie and choosing German filming locations for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 .
Berlin Tempelhof Airport – District 2
The park-turned airport at times became a refugee haven (and also the site of the Berlin airlift) was once again transformed into the background for the District 2 battle scenes in Mockingjay – Part 2.
For the film, the park was designed to be bombed to reflect the damage of the war, prompting some alarm from park visitors and their neighbors. Director Lawrence reported: “All the residents here started to panic because the building was torn down before the vote happened… [they were complaining] to the local government.”
Rüdersdorf – Distrito 8
Located on the outskirts of Berlin, on the outskirts of Brandenburg, an abandoned chemical factory in Rüdersdorf proved to be the perfect German filming location for Mockingjay – Part 2 . In a region full of abandoned buildings, search for the factory when Katniss and Gale attack the Capitol Hovercraft in District 8.
Studio Babelsberg – Conjuntos
One of the oldest large-scale film studios in the world, Babelsberg has produced films since 1912, including The Reader , Inglourious Basterds, The Grand Budapest Hotel , among others . Along with the film’s host stars and elaborate sets, a casting call was issued for around 1,000 extras with various ethnic origins to be the people of Panem.
If you want to look behind the scenes, the studio offers tours and even an amusement park. When films are in production, visitors can get their first look at the sets. For Mockingjay – Part 2 , the studio co-produced the international blockbuster that allows it to invest benchmark subsidies in smaller German and European productions.
Das Kraftwerk, Berlin Mitte – Beetee Arms Laboratory, District 13
Another building abandoned to take on the role of co-star is a former power station on Köpenicker Strasse in Mitte (central district) in Berlin. Appearing as the Beetee weapons lab from District 13, this German filming location offered a size and scope almost impossible to replicate. Director Lawrence said, “It was actually quite difficult to find environments that seemed underground.”
CG was used to add flames to the film, but the gloomy site is almost exactly as it appears in the film. Opened in the 1960s and closed since 1997, it is large, cavernous, gray, and imposing.
For a first-hand look, take part in a bit of Berlin’s infamous nightlife at Tresor, or attend various concerts, events, and exhibitions.
