By Sophie Sadler
“Our ethos is to create a story in everything we do,” reflects Vanda as we chat in her magnificent Bond-inspired villa in the western Algarve.
Aptly named Skyfall the clifftop property is an adult playground of spectacular views, minimalist interiors, incredible cars and jaw-dropping gadgets. Their website announces, “we transform fiction into reality”. It also doubles as the HQ of Spy Manor Productions.
Vanda is the brains behind the Spy Manor brand. Although she looks like a film star herself, she comes from a tech background, marketing semi-conductors, which, for non-techy people like me, are the components used in the micro-chips contained in your phone or computer.
A Russian now living in Germany, she was a movie fan rather than a movie maker when she discovered the Algarve; she believes her business background allowed her to structure the new company and assemble a winning team.
With her husband, she bought a holiday home here in 2017 and in 2019 acquired Villa Skyfall, then under construction, and gave it their unique style. Vanda spent lockdown in Portugal, working remotely and homeschooling their son.
Looking out of their floor-to-ceiling windows at the dramatic western Algarve coastline, they were struck by how spectacular the landscape and the weather were in this area. Vanda speculated on how underutilised the Algarve was as both a film location and a destination for influential people. She was ready to turn her fiction into a reality.
Spy Manor incorporates productions and real estate. You may think this is a strange synergy until you see the property they have under development. Instead of the traditional property brochures, their sales pitch is made through a movie trailer for the out-of-the-world – and aptly named – Sky Base One.
Making their mantra of ‘living in a movie’ come true, the spectacular project is inspired by the legendary Star Wars Millennium Falcon ship. The promotional film of the unique luxury villa in the Algarve has been nominated for the ART&TUR – International Tourism Film Festival, which will take place in Aveiro, between the 26th and 29th of October. The short film features the Portuguese architect that worked on the project, imagining and then creating the concept. The 624m2 of accommodation is described as “the first of its kind in the Algarve” and has been designed to follow the highest standards, including inspiring architectural features and highly sophisticated finishes. It will set you back an inter-galactic €6 million.
If you think having your house made into a movie is a cool idea, Spy Manor productions will give you ‘lights, camera, action’ by creating a short film to promote your own manor for sale or rental.
“Creating films is the ultimate manifestation of telling a story,” explains Vanda. Spy Manor Productions was born out of their fairytale – they subsequently teamed up with the UK based MovieBox Group. Both companies have joined forces in developing the Film Studios’ project in Loulé, re-developing an old Super Bock brewing factory into film and TV studios with a multi-million euro investment. As one of the largest studios in Europe, it puts the Algarve firmly on the filmmaking map – Vanda confirms they are getting a lot of interest from streamers.
In July, The Hollywood Reporter published an article titled ‘Why the global film sector is making the pilgrimage to Portugal’, citing the impact that the MovieBox studios in Loulé could have on the country’s movie-making landscape.
The two filmmaking companies worked on There’s Always Hope, currently out of post-production and scheduled for a cinema release later in October. The movie has been submitted for the upcoming Biennale Cinema 2021 in Venice.
On 19 July, Spy Manor Productions, MovieBox and Monte Productions started shooting a new project together in the Algarve called The Infernal Machine. Directed and written by Andrew Hunt, it is being produced by Lionel Hicks and Julian Hicks, and co-produced by Vanda. It is currently being shot in the new MovieBox studio complex in Loulé and locations near the town. However, the plot is not based on the Algarve. “When Andrew saw what we had to offer, he couldn’t believe how similar the Algarve landscape was to the States,” Vanda confides.
The Moviebox studios and Media Tech Village, set in 33 acres, will feature a 37,235sqft set over four stages, with 55,487sqft of water stages and 113,000sqft of workshop space. With three new indoor state-of-the-art sound stages, an extensive green screen and a TV studio within an integrated tech hub, it will be a base for the Moviebox streaming platform MovieBox Premiere and VFX studio.
It is anticipated that the project will initially create around 300 high-quality jobs with a potential for substantial additions as the Tech Media Village is developed further.
“We hope our movies and real estate will bring interesting people to the Algarve to invest and contribute to the economic future of this wonderful region,” she adds. She is clearly passionate about the new Sky Manor brand as she reels off a list of their future projects, which all fit with their top-end film-themed brand.
They have acquired a plot for a fine-dining experience named Sky Blade. To set the tone, an elite car brand prototype will greet guests in the entrance hall and diners will have their taste buds treated to gastronomic excellence while visually they are wowed by film-themed exhibits.
In the sumptuous living room, with an Aston Martin Valkyrie elegantly situated in the corner, it is clear that cars, as well as Bond films, are a passion. “We view it as an art object,” Vanda tells me and, as I admire the sculpted lines of the prototype, I can see what she means. Their website puts it perfectly, “They are objects of art, pieces of jewellery. So, where do we put our favourite jewellery? In a beautiful display showcase.”
Another element of their business incorporates creating these ‘showcases’ for fellow car collectors. Led by Vanda down a flight of stairs to their car collection, I can only describe it as a temple to an elite range of motor cars, most of which would not be seen on a regular road. Vanda describes this as “their very own carefully crafted area, destined for socialisation, entertainment and, why not, worship.”
There is more than a little Bond-worship in Spy Manor. It begins with the sign on the restroom announcing “for your eyes only” and continues in the Home Theatre. I am struggling to see where this is located in the layout of the house when we arrive at a Quantum of Solace film poster next to a shelf housing models of Aston Martins. Vanda adjusts the positions of one of these models. I assume she might be a bit OCD until I realise that this slides the wall back to reveal their home cinema. A womb-like space where you can recline in sumptuous armchairs in the glow of an Aston Martin logo on the ceiling while lasers beam 007 into the ether.
The whole floor rises to give viewers a better view of the screen, which they claim gives you the “highest immersive experience of escapism”.
Spy Manor will help you install such a room for a figure that no doubt would even make Bond wince and promises that, “Experience has shown us that the best rooms are the ones where intelligence and compromise walk hand-in-hand in a perfect symbiosis of passion and precision.” However, their unique property is available for corporate hospitality, private screenings and press events.
In July, the 6to6 Iberian tour, sponsored by Mercedes-AMG, concluded at Skyfall. The leading sports car owners community in Europe celebrated their last tour of the season with a surprise visit to Spy Manor Productions HQ. Experiencing the gadgets and garages of Villa Skyfall must have been a dream end to tour for motor enthusiasts.
Should my words fail to conjure up an adequate image in your mind of the mind-blowing awesomeness of this setup, I can highly recommend going to their website, where you will see Vanda arriving at Spy Manor and view some of these gadgets. If you have a few bob invested and think a property like this is for you, then a new project based on Top Gun is also in the pipeline.
There is also a philanthropic agenda which Vanda is enthusiastic about. “If we are to make the Algarve an industry-leading film location then we need to nurture local talent.” Spy Manor hosted scriptwriting workshops where they identified ten future talents and introduced them to mentors, including producers who trained them to make the transition into the film industry.
Vanda and Julian with TVI at the MovieBox in association with Spy Manor Productions
Two writers were selected and their scripts, which are rooted in the Algarve are currently being pitched to streamers. “We want to create something that is authentic for the region,” Vanda explains.
More such workshops will be held in the future – they are also encouraging people in the industry located in the Algarve to get in touch through their website.
I usually conclude my interviews by asking what dreams my interviewees have for the future, but I can’t imagine there is any dream Vanda hasn’t pursued. I am wrong! She would love Daniel Craig to be her guest at Villa Skyfall – I can’t imagine him turning down an invite!
I have been shaken and more than a little stirred by Vanda, who has impressed me as an inspiring and passionate businesswoman. You would love to hate a woman living in such a dream-like world, but I warm to her. You get the impression she has worked hard to get here and she is genuine, polite and hospitable.
It would seem that The World is Not Enough for Vanda, who comes From Russia with Love. For Your Eyes Only, I am convinced that Spy Manor Productions will beat The Living Daylights out of the industry. We will Never Say Never Again to the Algarve becoming the Goldfinger in filming production.
