Villa 56, Hua Hin – 6 November 2026
Actually, all we wanted to do was make a film.
A film about our arrival in Hua Hin, our new villa and the question of why we chose this particular place. Why Thailand? Why Hua Hin? And why is Villa 56 at Sunshine Prestige Resort so much more to us than simply a beautiful property?
The idea was never simply to film the villa room by room. This was not meant to be a conventional property video. We wanted to tell a story: the story of a new chapter in life, a second home beneath the palm trees, and a decision shaped by curiosity, courage and the desire for change.
That is why we kept the villa virtually untouched before properly moving in. Everything was meant to look as pristine and perfect as possible. Two days were set aside for filming, in German and English. We had prepared the script and a detailed storyboard well in advance.
Even so, we were completely taken aback when the film crew arrived.
Suddenly our terrace was transformed into a professional studio. Cameras, tripods, huge softboxes, sliders, monitors, microphones and cables were everywhere. Two people built the set with a precision I had rarely witnessed. And I have been involved in quite a few film and advertising productions in my life.
Quite honestly, I have never experienced this degree of professionalism combined with such technical effort on a comparable production in Germany or Austria.
All at once, Hollywood had arrived at Villa 56.
Between the pool, palm trees and Buddha figures, the lighting was positioned down to the last centimetre. Furniture was moved, tracking shots were prepared, angles were checked and scenes were rebuilt again and again. Nothing happened casually. Every shot was composed. Even our covered terrace suddenly looked like a major film set – except that this set was our new home.
Then came the next surprise: the entire production cost 18,000 baht.
Two full days of filming with a two-person crew, professional equipment and all the preparation. In Europe, that sum would probably cover little more than setting up part of the technical equipment.
Yet the most beautiful moment of the day was neither an image nor a camera movement. It was something the filmmaker said to me.
He told me that he had accepted the assignment only because he had never before received such a detailed storyboard and such a well-developed script. It made him curious. He immediately sensed that this was not going to be an ordinary property film. Someone wanted to tell a story.
And that was exactly why he wanted to make it.
He also saw it as an opportunity to develop creatively and create a distinctive reference project: a film that does more than show rooms, one that explains why people set off once again, why they choose a new place and what turns a house into a home.
For me, that was one of the finest compliments a true professional could give.
Because that is exactly what matters to me: not merely presenting something, but revealing the meaning behind it. The villa is beautiful. But beauty alone does not tell a story. A place gains its soul through people, their decisions, their doubts and their hopes.
As fascinating as the shoot was, it was also exhausting. At the same time, we were dealing with immigration procedures, learning how the house worked, resolving practical questions and doing more shopping. One appointment followed another. In between, it was always the same routine: wait, prepare, step in front of the camera, speak the lines, adjust the posture – and begin again.
Anyone who has ever worked in front of or behind a camera knows how intense and stressful a film set can be. The finished images look calm and effortless. No one sees how much technology, planning, repetition and patience are hidden inside a few seconds of film.
By the evening, we were exhausted.
But we were happy too. Because amid all this organisational chaos, something lasting was taking shape: the cinematic story of our new chapter in life.
For now, cameras and lights still stand among the palm trees. Cables still cross the terrace. Villa 56 is still both home and film studio.
But slowly we are beginning to understand what is happening here.
We are not making a film about a villa.
We are telling the story of a new chapter in our lives.