“This flip side of film tourism I call the Telenovela Effect”

Film tourism is a growing trend where people visit locations where movies or series were shot. It can be a sort of pilgrimage for the fanbase. A famous example is Dubrovnik in Croatia on which King’s Landing out of Game of Thrones was inspired. This form of tourism can give a boost to the local economy and can revitalize cultural heritage. “The series Downton Abbey is supposed to have saved the castle from ruin. Tourists started to visit the filming location and tourism in the area got a boost. The media referred to this as the ‘Downton Effect’”, says Débora Póvoa.

The PhD-researcher studied different forms of film tourism in Brazil, which is her country of birth. Through different case studies and interviews she wanted to understand what the effects of film tourism are and how it’s perceived by locals. Póvoa focused her research on vulnerable locations in Brazil. She went to two different favelas (low-income neighborhoods) where telenovelas, which are very popular tv-series in Brazil, were partly filmed. Although tourism also existed before, it increased when the shows were aired.  Many events would take place, companies would invest, and fans would come and visit.  Although there was an initial boost in visitors and investments, her research shows that the effects were mostly temporary.

The ‘Telenovela Effect’

“These TV shows have a fast production pace and usually don’t enjoy long-term fame”, she explains. “The interest fades away at a certain point, which causes frustration among locals as they had high expectations in the beginning.” Initially the residents felt proud that their neighborhood became the center point of attention. At some point pride made place for frustration. Some respondents even felt exploited, the researcher sees. “This flip side of the coin I call the ‘Telenovela effect’. One interviewee, for example, thought that filmmakers used the rich images of their culture to make money but gave nothing in return to the community”.

Telenovelas usually only enjoy short term fame, but also local context plays a role in the drop of travelers and interest. In both communities there was a return of violent conflict between local groups and the police. Another example is the closure of a cable car in one of the favelas (Complexo do Alemão in Rio de Janeiro), which was already a popular tourist attraction and was used by locals at the same time. After the recording of the telenovela it became even more popular. When it was taken out of service tourism diminished.  “Locals saw this interest as an opportunity to develop the neighborhood. They wished that filmmakers would come more often so that tourism is more sustained”, says the media scholar.

Also, the residents had mixed feelings on how their neighborhoods were depicted by telenovelas. Póvoa: “Favelas have faced a lot of stigmatization. In the press they are often referred to as places of violence, crime and poverty, but these neighborhoods are the home of many types of people. When the telenovelas aired, they mostly felt proud. Although these telenovelas included common stereotypes, residents were also shown as people who have future dreams. They like to be seen as such.”

Northeastern Hollywood

The researcher also studied a project from the government that aimed to create an audio-visual hub in the northeast of the country. The town Cabaceiras was baptized as Northeastern Hollywood (written as Roliúde Nordestina in Portuguese). In the past decades many films were recorded in the town including the famous ‘A Dog’s Will’ (O Auto da Compadecida). Roliúde Nordestina didn’t meet the high expectations as only a few new productions would take place and tourism remained limited. The town has a fragile economy and Póvoa found that it was hard to find money to invest in infrastructure for tourists and film crews. Also, the project lacked a real development plan and became more of a marketing strategy.

For Póvoa the different cases studies show that both film and policy makers should understand the local context better before making promises. At the time they should be transparent about the nature of a project so that locals can negotiate from a well-informed position. “The main lesson is that locals want to collaborate and participate in film projects and see to it that benefits are more sustainable in the long-term.”