The Light Between Oceans, which stars Rachel Weisz and Michael Fassbender, is scheduled to start shooting in Dunedin by the end of this week and more details have come to light about which locations the producers plan on using.
The film's supervising location manager, Jared Connon, said residents would ''definitely'' recognise Dunedin when they watched the film as they were shooting in some ''iconic'' spots.
''If you are a local, there are certain places you will recognise and you will know exactly where they are.''
Dunedin was chosen for the film after the production team failed to find the ''perfect location'' following a nationwide search.
In the end, they were weighing up between Christchurch and Dunedin - which are both bigger than the town in the novel the film is based on.
''In the story, in the novel, it was set in a port town. So we were looking for somewhere in New Zealand that was on the water, but still had all the great architecture and period buildings.
''The problem with Christchurch was because of the earthquake[s] a lot of their old architecture has disappeared.''
It was also difficult to get to Banks Peninsula.
''Whereas, the Otago Peninsula has got all these amazing views and all the coastal stuff we want, but is really close to town.''
They had earlier considered Oamaru, but the director felt it was ''too industrial looking''.
The film's director and producer were impressed with Dunedin.
''When the producers and the director came in to Dunedin for the first time, it was ... very much like `whoa, this is really cool'.
''And then as we explored it more and more, they were like `this is great; we can find buildings that have got views out of their windows to the seawater'.''
The city had a unique offering for film-makers and should look at selling itself as a shooting location.
''It's still undiscovered. There are cities around the world that market themselves on that filming aspect of where you can get old buildings, but it's still user-friendly.
''I was talking to Ross [Grey] at the [Dunedin City Council] and saying there is a real asset there ... [and] that they need to figure out how to package it up and promote it to international film-makers.''
Recently, he had pushed Dunedin as a filming location for an international television series, but Auckland was chosen for economic reasons.
Further details on shooting locations for the film were revealed in a letter sent to Broad Bay residents, which said ''a number of scenes'' would be shot at Fletcher House, built in 1909 by Sir James Fletcher, and parts of nearby Clearwater St would be closed during the shoot.
Dunedin City Council transport technical officer Michael Tannock said Grey St in Port Chalmers would also be closed for shooting.
Gravel would be put down for filming in Portobello Rd, Highcliff Rd and George St in Port Chalmers, to fit the film's 1920s period.
There would be delays of up to five minutes on these roads during shooting, Mr Tannock said.
An office in the Otago Daily Times building, in Stuart St, is also going to double as the harbourmaster's office.
The now unused Dunedin Prison and St Barnabas Church in Warrington are understood to be other locations.
There is also speculation James Bond actor Daniel Craig could return to Dunedin after acting in the movie Sylvia, filmed in the city in 2003.
Craig is married to Weisz and has previously travelled with her when she is on location.
Shooting for the film would take place over three weeks in Dunedin and one week of shooting is planned for Central Otago.
Some filming is also being done in Marlborough and Tasmania.
The film is based on a book of the same title by Australian writer M. L. Stedman, and is about a lighthouse keeper and his wife who live on a remote island off Western Australia.
The locations
• Port Chalmers
• Fletcher House, Broad Bay
• Allied Press building
• St Barnabas Church
• Warrington
• Dunedin Prison
