"Koh Lanta" 2021: how the show had to adapt its shooting because of the health crisis: Femme Actuelle Le MAG

It’s already Koh-Lanta’s 22nd season, but it’s been quite different in terms of organization and production. Indeed, it was shot during the health crisis and it was necessary to Alexia Laroche-Joubert, President of Adventure Line Production, and the game's production team has a lot of patience to be able to complete this season. Thus, for the first time in 22 seasons, the shooting took place in French Polynesia. A not insignificant choice: "We had never considered Polynesia before because it is very touristy in normal times", explained Alexia Laroche-Joubert to Parisian, on Friday March 12, 2021, a few hours before the broadcast of this new season, Koh-Lanta, the secret weapons. "It's complicated to maintain a feeling of isolation with the cruise ships passing by all the time. There, suddenly, it became a much less frequented place", added the producer. But to be able to organize a whole shooting in times of pandemic, there are many points to be clarified …

Many days of isolation

"We had two issues: on the one hand, we did not want, as metropolitan, to contaminate the island and on the other, once we were on the set, it was impossible to stop it for seven days in the event of contact", specified Alexia Laroche-Joubert, who had herself gone there in September to meet the local authorities. Thus, a whole protocol was put in place: the teams had to isolate themselves for ten days before to be able to go to Polynesia. During the filming, in order to limit the risks, they were accommodated on … a cruise ship! "We asked our teams ten days before departure to do a first test and then to go into isolation. In the three days preceding the flight, to do a test again, at the request of the Polynesian government. Then, as soon as people disembarked in Papeete, they were in a hotel in separate rooms and in solitary confinement for four days. Then they did a test again, then another one at the entrance of the boat where the teams resided during the filming.The producer explained in detail. On top of that, there was a protocol in place in case of contact, but everything went smoothly and it was not triggered. But such precautions came at a cost: "Between 300,000 and 400,000 euros additional", lamented Alexia Laroche-Joubert.

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