 Lucas, accompanied by producer Gary Kurtz visited the Tunisian island of Djerba with them and were impressed by the desert landscape and the unusual architecture, and selected Tunisia to provide the desert planet setting.Lucas was also keen to shoot at the Hotel Sidi Driss in Matmata, a decision which extended the shoot by a day and consequently the budget.Filming in Tunisia began on March 22, 1976, and immediately ran into difficulty