Sense8 · Das Boot
Malta Film Studios Water Tanks
In Maltese: Malta Film Studios, Rinella
Malta Film Studios in Kalkara has huge seaside water tanks that blend into the real horizon. Sense8 shot its 2016 Christmas special opening here, and Sky's Das Boot used them for submarine scenes.
What was filmed at Malta Film Studios Water Tanks?
Sense8 (2015–2018) · S2 E1 · “A Christmas Special”
The opening of the Christmas special: the eight sensates drifting together underwater. Shot over two days in the Kalkara tanks in September 2016. It played A dreamlike open sea.
Das Boot (2018–2023) · Season 3
U-boat surface and ocean scenes shot in the studio water tanks (and on the open sea around Malta), as in the earlier seasons. It played The Atlantic and the waters off West Africa.
About Malta Film Studios Water Tanks
Built from 1964 next to Fort Rinella, the studios' exterior tanks were designed so the water's edge merges with the open Mediterranean behind. Cameras get an endless sea horizon with total control. The shallow tank covers about 91 × 122 metres, and a deep tank added in 1979 goes down to about 11 metres. Decades of sea epics have filmed here. For TV, Sense8 came for two days in September 2016 to film the underwater opening of its season-two Christmas special. Das Boot used the tanks and the sea around Malta across its seasons. The studios are a working facility and not open to the public, but you can see the tanks' sea walls from the coastal road and from Fort Rinella next door.
Best time to go
Clear mornings, when the tank edge and the sea horizon line up best; combine with Fort Rinella and Fort Ricasoli.
Questions people ask
Can you visit the Malta Film Studios?+
Not normally. It's a working studio. You can see the edge of the water tanks from the public road beside Fort Rinella, which is a museum you can visit.
Why are Malta's water tanks famous?+
The tanks sit right on the coast, so their far edge blends into the real sea horizon. Filmmakers get an ocean background in a controlled pool.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Malta Film Studios
- Wikipedia — Sense8 season 2
- Malta Independent — Season three of Das Boot being filmed in Malta
- Screen Global Production — Das Boot season 3 filming in Malta and Prague
Exact spot not yet checked on site — we visit every location before launch.