Canberra's journey to becoming an international filming location is one step closer, with a television production setting up shop in the capital later this month.
A new 20-episode drama series by Singaporean broadcast company Mediacorp, titled Shero, will take over Canberra from February 22 to March 4.
Mediacorp is also behind other Singaporean television series including its local version of Masterchef and Tamil reality singing competition Vasantham Star.
Shero follows the story of a young woman, who decides to join her late sister's bodyguard company to continue her legacy. In doing so, she discovers many things about her sister and a web of complications that has her running to save the company, her loved ones, and herself.
While little is known about the production, and the cast is yet to be announced, the production is said to feature some of Singapore's "A-list" actors.
It is also understood the production company put a call out to the Canberra community for the use of a BMW 440i for filming.
"With a production crew of 27 people travelling from Singapore to Canberra, including four Singaporean A-list actors to shoot and star in the filming, this will be the largest film crew that has ever come to Canberra from overseas," ACT Economic Development Assistant Minister Tara Cheyne said.
"In a boost for the Canberra economy and local businesses, Mediacorp will hire local film industry specialists and contribute to our economy with 27 crew members staying, eating and working locally over the 10 days of filming."
Shero is the latest in a line of productions choosing to film in Canberra. In recent years, the region has hosted the Australian soap opera Home and Away, Liam Neeson's thriller Blacklight, horror film Sissy, which starred Aisha Dee from The Bold Type, and Netflix's Queer Eye.
The fast-paced, action-packed story will feature many of Canberra's locations as the backdrop for key parts of the story. Over the 10 days, the crew will film at a variety of tourist and scenic locations across Canberra, including hotels, attractions, the airport, cityscapes, café scenes, and outdoor vistas.
Behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with talent and additional tourism experiences in Canberra will also be captured by the accompanying online short-video crew JustSwipeLah, which will deliver trending, attention-grabbing content to a Singapore audience. JustSwipeLah is an online content series that features entertainment, lifestyle and food news in short videos.
"This project will also expose Canberra to an important international market, with Shero estimated to reach an audience of 2.5 million people in Singapore, a key international tourism market for Canberra," Ms Cheyne said.
"This project will help raise the profile of Canberra as a tourist destination in Singapore through television, print, online and social media publicity.
"With another Trade Mission to Singapore taking place this month, the ACT Government will look at opportunities to leverage screen industry and tourism connections as a result of this production."
The series is expected to air in the Singaporean market later this year.
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