The Real-Life Filming Locations from 'Where the Crawdads Sing'
The fictional places in the best-selling book came to life across Louisiana.
Like Delia Owens' best-selling book, Reese Witherspoon's movie adaptation of Where the Crawdads Sing manages to transport viewers to another world. The film is told via two storylines set in two different time periods. The first follows a misunderstood young girl named Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones) as she comes of age in the marshes of coastal North Carolina. The second takes place in the same marsh several years later, after her unlikely romance with the town's "golden boy" Chase (Harris Dickinson) ends with her going on trial for his murder.
It is hard not to be totally enchanted by the movie's gorgeous scenery involving an ethereal marsh, with stunning green overhanging trees and lots of wildlife. But where was the movie filmed? Read on to learn more about where "Where the Crawdads Sing" was filmed.
Where was Where the Crawdads Sing Filmed?
Although the novel was set in the marshes of North Carolina, filming actually took place in and around Houma and New Orleans in Louisiana. Other iconic locations, like Feather Stump Forest and Jumpin's Bait & Gas, were brought to life on private properties across rural Louisiana.
Houma, Louisiana
In downtown Houma, the production transformed Lafayette Street into the fictional, early-60s fishing village of Barkley Cove. The Courier reports that local businesses were converted into a cinema, barbershop, hardware store, and more for the film. The storefront of Linsi L Cenac Interiors was turned into a retro furniture store, while the exterior of La Boujee Boutique was transformed into a hardware store. Even an old rail bus and vintage cars were brought in to complete the look.
Lake Pontchartrain
The key setting, Kya's home in the wild marshes, was filmed in the wetlands on the banks of Lake Pontchartrain, specifically in Fontainebleau and Fairview-Riverside State Parks, in the neighboring towns of Mandeville and Madisonville. During the four months of filming, from April to July 2021, the production was faced with numerous shutdowns due to extreme weather, with shoots disrupted by lightning storms, floods, and heat. "I never sweated so much in my life," director Olivia Newman told Vanity Fair. "I learned how wonderful linen is."
Related: 'Where the Crawdads Sing' Director Olivia Newman on Bringing Kya's World to Life On Screen
Historic St. Bernard Parish Courthouse
Some of the movie's most dramatic scenes take place in a grand and imposing courtroom. A representative for Sony Pictures Entertainment told Southern Living, that those were shot in the Historic St. Bernard Parish Courthouse, also known as the Beauregard Courthouse, in Chalmette. The 16,800-square-foot historic building, originally erected as a courthouse in 1916, is now a post office and library.
Related: 20 Movies Based On Your Favorite Southern Books
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