Where Was 'Annette' Filmed? Shooting Took Place on Multiple Continents

One of the most anticipated films of the summer is French filmmaker Leos Carax’s English-language debut, the rock opera Annette, starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard.

The musical drama, which follows the director’s acclaimed Holy Motors, tells the story of stand-up comedian Henry McHenry (Adam Driver) and world-famous opera singer Anne Desfranoux (Marion Cotillard), who quickly fall in love and give birth to the titular Annette, portrayed for most of the film as a wooden marionette.

Over the course of the two-hour operatic drama, the couple spiral into abuse allegations, resentment, and murder, and baby Annette eventually gains the haunting ability to sing using her mother’s voice.

A lot goes on in Annette, to be sure. NPR writes, “If you’re not on its bizarre wavelength, it may not work for you at all.” But if you’re in for the strange story of marriage, music, and obsession, you might be asking yourself where Annette was filmed. Keep reading while we break the filming locations down.

A lot of Annette was filmed in Los Angeles, Calif., where Henry works as a cynical and self-deprecating standup. Many of the LA exteriors were shot in Downtown Los Angeles at locations like the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Orpheum Theater, which is where Henry is performing his show, The Ape of God.

It looks like production was even able to change out the real Orpheum’s marquee for the purposes of Annette, billing Henry McHenry’s comedy show.

According to The Cinemaholic, the opening sequence for the film was also shot on the streets of Los Angeles, specifically at the recording studio The Village in West LA’s Sawtelle.

Outside of Los Angeles, the majority of Annette was filmed in Europe. The movie was shot in the Belgian cities of Brussels, Bruges, and Liège, as well as throughout various locations in Germany, including Münster, Cologne, and Bonn.

For example, The Cinemaholic writes that the concert hall where Anne sings is located in Bruges's Concertgebouw, and that the big nightmare sequence Anne experiences was filmed in a forest in Brussels. The outlet also shares a fun anecdote: "While filming in the Brussels-Capital Region, director Leos Carax's beloved dog, Javelot, went missing but was later found at a train station thanks to the efforst of the cast, crew, and fans."

In Liège, production shot Annette's debut stage performance at the Opéra Royal, which is located on the Place de l'Opéra in Liège. Plus, while the exterior of the Henry McHenry's comedy show, Ape of God, was filmed in Los Angeles, interior scenes were shot at Le Forum, an art theater at Rue Pont d'Avroy.

While we know that Annette also shot throughout Germany, the specifics of which scenes were shot in which city are a little less clear than their Belgian counterparts. It appears that the film made use of film and TV studios in Cologne, shot around the Eifel National Park, and even used the exterior of Münster's LVM Versicherung insurance company as a stand-in for the LAPD!

Annette is now streaming on Amazon Prime.