Magical filming for "The School of Magical Animals" at the HSZG

Last Friday, part of the campus in Görlitz was transformed into a film set for the third part of the popular movie series "The School of Magical Animals". This sequel promises to build on the success of its predecessor, "The School of Magical Animals 2", which was one of the top family films of last year. The film team has been on the road for weeks in Görlitz, Zittau and their picturesque surroundings such as the Zittau Mountains, as well as in Zgorzelec, Görlitz's Polish counterpart, to bring the magical adventures of pupils and their magical animal companions, based on the successful book series by Margit Auer, to the big screen.

The decision to choose Görlitz and its picturesque surroundings as the location for many key scenes emphasizes the city's appeal to high-profile film projects.

The current filming underlines the importance of our film academy. This is reflected not only in the excellent training of specialists for the industry, but also in the participation of one of our graduates in this major feature film production.

Dipl.-Des. Bernd Hölsken, Saxon Film Academy

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A corridor in the "GII" building, which was repainted especially for the production, was chosen as the filming location. The window in this corridor in particular played a decisive role in the choice of location. In addition to the hallway, a basement room served as a backdrop, which, just like the hallway, was equipped with control cabinet props. The set-up work started in the morning, while the actual filming began at midday. It was not until late in the evening, after the last take had been successfully completed, that things calmed down. An experienced team ensured that all the props were properly dismantled and the room was returned to its original state.

Of course, the magical animals were also on site and in one scene they looked through the aforementioned window of the university. For the shoot, the university slipped into the role of a natural history museum, for which scenes had already been filmed at the Dom Kultury in neighboring Zgorzelec, Poland. In the scene in question, the magical community attempts to break into a security room in order to disable the museum's alarm system. However, details of this exciting sequence will not be revealed at this point so as not to diminish the audience's anticipation.

Michael Otto, long-time caretaker at the Görlitz site, has already experienced a lot during his 30 years of service at the HSZG. But the recent film shoot was a special premiere even for him. He showed the team the buildings on the Görlitz campus in advance and helped them choose the best locations for filming. On the day of filming, he made sure that everything ran smoothly. He provided the necessary electricity, coordinated access to the premises and was always available to answer any technical questions.

Our university is proud to have been part of this film project and to have made our premises available for such an important production. This not only underlines the fact that Görlitz is an attractive university location for our students, but also confirms that the founding of the Saxon Film Academy was forward-looking and the right decision.

The Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences invites interested visitors to get to know the Saxon Film Academy. The open day offers the opportunity to find out more about the training courses and offers for those interested in film. Visitors will have the opportunity to attend workshops, get to know our lecturers and explore the Film Academy premises.

Open day at the Saxon Film Academy