Filming on Rapa Nui
Permits · park rules · official links below
A couple of big movie productions and countless TV shows and documentaries have been made at Rapa Nui. It's a unique and enigmatic place, perfect for making bespoke content, but there are certain rules to follow and fees to pay to make it happen.
Permission for professional filming
Permission is required for professional filming. Contact Ma’u Henua to process permits.
Fees depend on the size and impact of the production, the type of footage (for example night shoots, sunrise, or drone use), and how much logistical support Ma’u Henua needs to provide.
When you apply, Ma’u Henua will need a detailed plan: your exact locations, the date and time you will film at each place, what you will shoot there, and other practical detail.
During filming, representatives from Ma’u Henua accompany the production team for support and to ensure national park rules are followed.
Local audiovisual producers
Working with Rapa Nui audiovisual professionals usually makes permits, logistics, and community liaison smoother. Below are three established outfits—confirm services, rates, and availability directly with each company.
For orientation only. mauhenua.com does not endorse these businesses and is not responsible for their sites or services.
| Company | Owner / lead | Description | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mahatua Producciones | Leonardo Pakarati | Island crew since 1993: production support, consulting, and gear rental; documentaries and work with visiting productions. | WebsiteInstagramFacebook |
| Kia Hio | Waitiare Kaltenegger Icka | Waitiare’s production banner: Rapanui-language fiction and documentaries (e.g. Uho te Uka, Patu, la leyenda), focused on island culture and language. | CineChile profileIMDb |
| Mara Films | Sergio Mata’u Rapu | Since 2006: documentary and impact media for PBS, National Geographic, NOVA, and others; US-based—coordinate early for island-linked shoots. | WebsiteCineChile profile |
Rules and contacts change. Confirm with Ma’u Henua and CONAF before you spend money or fix dates. This site is unofficial and cannot grant park access.
Reference: titles shot on Rapa Nui
Sample list for orientation—fiction, TV, documentaries. Links are third-party catalogues (IMDb, broadcasters, etc.); verify episode details on the source site before contracts.
Year
| Feature films | ||||
| Title | Year | Produced by | Description | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Horse Nine | 2026 | Searchlight Pictures, Blueprint Pictures, Film4, others (see studio link). | Dark comedy / thriller directed by Martin McDonagh; substantial location shooting on Rapa Nui. | IMDbStudioWikipedia |
| Rapa Nui | 1994 | Tig Productions / New Century Pictures; distributed by Warner Bros. | Historical drama directed by Kevin Reynolds, set in pre-contact Rapa Nui and filmed on location. | IMDb |
| Television & streaming series | ||||
| Title | Year | Produced by | Description | Links |
| Divas Hit the Road (花儿与少年) | 2024 | Hunan Broadcasting System / Mango TV (franchise). | Celebrity travel-reality franchise; the 2024 season included location filming on Rapa Nui. | Wikipedia |
| House Hunters International — Easter Island, at World’s Edge | 2014 | HGTV / Leopard Films USA; Off the Beaten Path strand. | Reality house-hunting special filmed on Rapa Nui with a local–expat couple starting a family. | IMDbBroadcasterWikipedia |
| Oryol & Reshka (Heads or Tails) | 2014 | Created by Kateryna Turova; Ukrainian / international versions. | Travel-reality format; Season 8 “On the edge of the world” included Easter Island. | IMDb |
| Globe Trekker — Pacific Journeys I: Santiago to Pitcairn (incl. Rapa Nui) | 2012 | Pilot Productions; host Zay Harding. | Round-the-Pacific travel hour: Santiago, Easter Island, onward through Polynesia—long-running Lonely Planet / Globe Trekker format. | IMDbWikipedia |
| Destination Truth — Spirits of Easter Island / The Moa | 2010 | NBCUniversal / Syfy; hosted by Josh Gates. | Paranormal field show with a full Rapa Nui segment at the moai, paired with a New Zealand moa story. | IMDbWikipedia |
| Departures — Chile: Ends of the Earth | 2009 | Oasis HD / National Geographic Channel Canada et al.; created by Scott Wilson. | Travel documentary: moai, diving on Rapa Nui, then Patagonia and Antarctica in the same episode arc. | IMDbWikipedia |
| Super Taste (食尚玩家) | 2007 | TVBS. | Taiwanese food-and-travel magazine show; verify island episodes on the broadcaster site. | WikipediaBroadcaster |
| Iorana | 1998 | Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN). | Chilean telenovela set on Easter Island; 109 episodes. | IMDbBroadcasterWikipedia |
| Documentaries & factual specials | ||||
| Title | Year | Produced by | Description | Links |
| History’s Greatest Mysteries — The Secrets of Easter Island | 2025 | History Channel; Prometheus Entertainment et al. (per IMDb). | Cable documentary episode surveying how the statues were carved and moved and why the civilisation’s story remains contested. | IMDb |
| NOVA — Easter Island Origins | 2024 | WGBH Boston for PBS. | Updated science on carving, transport, and Rapa Nui resilience. | IMDbPBS |
| Ancient Unexplained Files — Mystery on Easter Island | 2021 | Science Channel; committee-produced archival / expert format. | Episode blending file footage and specialist interviews on moai construction, transport theories, and island mysteries. | IMDb |
| Lost Empire of Easter Island | 2019 | National Geographic Documentary Films / National Geographic TV. | Feature-length special revisiting collapse narratives, statue transport experiments, and newer archaeological perspectives on ecocide and population claims. | National Geographic TV listing |
| Easter Island Unsolved | 2018 | Smithsonian Channel (and related distributors). | Factual special on open questions around the island’s archaeology and population. | IMDb |
| Eating Up Easter | 2018 | Sergio Mata’u Rapu, Elena Kouneski Rapu; Independent Lens / PBS (US broadcast 2020). | Rapa Nui director’s feature-length look at tourism, waste, development, and how islanders negotiate identity and environmental pressure—often framed as a letter to his child. | IMDbPBSOfficial film site |
| Unearthed — Lost World of Easter Island | 2018 | Science Channel (US); Windfall Films / producers per IMDb. | Engineering-led episode using scans and experiments to discuss how moai were carved and what drove social change on the island. | IMDb |
| Te Kuhane o te Tupuna (Spirit of the Ancestors) | 2015 | Leonardo Pakarati; Mahatua Producciones (Chile). | Spanish-language documentary centred on Rapa Nui heritage and the moai Hoa Hakaʻanaʻia / Hoa Hakanaiʻa taken to the British Museum—community voices on repatriation and memory. | IMDb |
| Easter Island: Mysteries of a Lost World | 2014 | Channel 5 (UK); presented by Jago Cooper. | Single documentary on Rapa Nui society, moai, and collapse narratives. | IMDb |
| Secrets — Easter Island Heads | 2014 | Blink Films / BBC affiliates; US packaging on Smithsonian Channel. | Episode of the Secrets documentary strand on moai engineering and history. | IMDb |
| Ancient Civilizations — Easter Island: The Mystery of the Moai | 2009 | International Masters Publishers; cable / educational packaging (per IMDb). | Hour-long history slot on moai, society, and popular “mystery” angles—distinct from the BBC Attenborough special. | IMDb |
| The Easter Island Statue Project | 2008 | Field documentation project (short film format on IMDb). | Short documentary on recording and conserving moai in the field. | IMDb |
| Horizon — The Mystery of Easter Island | 2003 | BBC Two. | Science strand episode on ecology, statues, and island history. | IMDb |
| NOVA — Secrets of Lost Empires: Easter Island | 2000 | WGBH Boston for PBS. | Experimental archaeology: moving and raising a moai replica. | IMDb |
| The Lost Gods of Easter Island | 2000 | BBC; presented by David Attenborough. | TV documentary tracing a wooden figure from auction back to Rapa Nui’s history and moai. | IMDb |
| Horizon — Easter Island: The Secrets | 1988 | BBC. | Earlier Horizon instalment on the island’s archaeology. | IMDb |
| In Search of… — The Easter Island Massacre | 1977 | Alan Landsburg Productions; syndicated TV (Leonard Nimoy series). | Classic paranormal-mystery episode from the late-1970s boom in moai pop culture—useful as historical media context rather than current science. | IMDb |