LMGI COMPASS
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Spring 2026
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"We felt you could believe it's in East Germany, the period was
right and the layout was perfect for the scene," says Beliczai.
Legman adds: "The station needed an underpass, overpass and
train lines, but also because the characters escape from the site,
we needed appropriate surrounding guards and office buildings
and water towers. Fortunately, Istvantelek was ideal for this with
a footbridge and towers already in place and big courtyard below
for the buildings. We had Jim Clay, the production designer, with
us and he agreed."
The scriptwriter spent a whole day on location with the team
re-writing the script to suit what was there, including a half-
abandoned train shipyard next door, which was used as an escape
route.
The challenge was managing safety. "It's an active train station
with people working, so we needed to implement safety measures,
including having guys warn us when trains were approaching, and
switching off the electrics while we were working," says Legman.
"But amazingly for the shoot, we were given the whole station for
the crew and unit base to be set up. It worked out perfectly."
"I believe that a very important part
of a location manager's job is to
understand and tune in to the creator's
vision. If you can do that, it's one of the
most interesting and versatile jobs in
the film industry."
–Imre Legman/LMGI
Istvantelek train station, Hungary (After) The Debt .
Photo by Imre Legman/LMGI
