Mar 05, 2002 (The Namibian/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- OSCAR-WINNING actress Angelina Jolie will arrive at Swakopmund today to start shooting the international feature film 'Beyond Borders'.

The coastal town has been a hive of activity since early this year when preparations for the movie started.

Despite attempts by the producers to keep the event as quiet as possible for security reasons, many rumours and stories started doing the rounds.

All crew members had to sign a contract of confidentiality which prevented them from saying anything about the movie.

The silence from the producer's side will be broken on Wednesday with a planned press conference and photo opportunity for the Namibian media at the coastal town.

Cid Swank, Unit Publicist, said this is a unique event as Hollywood movie sets usually follow a 'closed set policy', which means no information is given to the media while the movie is in production.

She told The Namibian yesterday that the producer, Lloyd Phillips, decided to make an exception in the case of Namibia "as it is such a big event for the country and the news has already caused so much public interest".

A front-page report in The Namibian in January caused a wave of public interest and countless calls to the newspaper's offices for more information.

Swank said it will be the first time the producer, director and main actors will be talking to the press about the movie.

'Beyond Borders' is an epic love story that chronicles the romance between an American disaster relief doctor, played by Clive Owen, and an aristocratic philanthropist socialite (Jolie) who keep meeting over several years in countries torn apart by wars and disasters.

The story is set in Cambodia, Chechnya and Ethiopia with the Ethiopian part of the movie shot in the Namib desert outside Swakopmund.

The third Hollywood star arriving today is Noah Emmerich, who plays the role of Owen's friend.

Jolie, who is probably best known for her role as action heroine Lara Croft in 'Tomb Raider', won an Oscar for best supporting actress in the movie 'Girl Interrupted'. She also played in the thriller, 'The Bone Collector', opposite Denzel Washington.

Jolie's co-star, Owen, starred in 'Croupier', while Emmerich was in the 'Truman Show'.

Both the producer, Phillips and the director, Martin Campbell, worked on 'Vertical Limit'.

Phillips worked in Namibia about three years ago on the movie 'Running Free', which was also shot at the Roessing mountain and in the Namib.

Swank told The Namibian that it was on Phillips' recommendation that the African part of the movie is being shot in Namibia "because of his positive experience in the country while working on 'Running Free'".

by Maggi Barnard

Copyright The Namibian. Distributed by All Africa Global Media (AllAfrica.com)

Thanks, M Virnig