During a presentation at the San Sebastian Film Festival this week, the Spanish community of Valencia made its intentions clear to become a leading global hub of audiovisual production.
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Organized by the Valencian Audiovisual Cluster in collaboration with the Generalitat’s Department of Education, Culture, Universities and Employment, the event featured representatives from the public and private sectors, including Culture Secretary Pilar Tébar, General Manager of the Society for Digital Transformation Projects Fermín Crespo, and regional broadcaster A Punt Media general manager Alfred Costa, who participated in a roundtable discussion moderated by Miguel Molina, VP of the Valencian Audiovisual Production and Services Cluster.
The day’s discussion focused on the current state of the Valencian audiovisual sector in a global market context and how the region can continue to grow.
Cortés underscored the importance of innovation in setting the region’s industry apart in a crowded field, preferring it to simply offering more and more tax breaks. He argued that trying to be the cheapest place to shoot is a race to the bottom but that through innovation, Valencia can offer something that no other region can.
The panelists also introduced the Audiovisual Mediterranean Hub Region of Valencia brand, aimed at consolidating the sector’s value chain across the region’s three provinces. Sergio Gómez Trillo, the Valencian Audiovisual Cluster manager, outlined this initiative’s strategic plan, focusing on industry development, innovation, entrepreneurship and technology.
The leading players in the region’s initiative include the Ciudad de la Luz film studios, the Institut Valencià de Cultura (IVC), a public sector film agency, and pubcaster À Punt, but many private companies are also contributing with their expertise and suggestions.
Following the roundtable, Nuria Montes de Diego, Minister of Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism, addressed the need for the central government to recognize the Valencian Community as a strategic hub for the audiovisual sector in Spain.
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She expressed concern that local companies and operators might not benefit from the €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) allocated by the government to boost the national film industry, citing the Spain Film Commission’s latest report on the economic impact of international film productions in Spain, which overlooked Valencia despite its substantial contributions. Over the past 14 months, the region has hosted 13 productions at the newly remodeled Ciudad de la Luz film studio, generating €60 million ($67 million) in spend.
Montes boasted about the region’s logistical advantages during a conversation with Variety in San Sebastian. “We’re two hours from Madrid on the high-speed rail. We’re two hours from the U.K. to the Alicante airport, which is the best-connected airport in all of Spain and only three kilometers from the studio.”
Perhaps the region’s most impressive asset is the aforementioned Ciudad de Luz film studios, which reopened last year. The facilities include more than 120,000 sq ft of soundstages, 120,550 sq ft of workshops and storages, a 36.5 acre back lot, and Europe’s largest water tank, which is equipped with wave generating machines, water cannons and an extendable green screen. The tank was recently used on Netflix hit “Under Paris” and perhaps most famously used for J.A. Bayona’s tsunami disaster film “The Impossible.”
According to Montes, the importance of public and private institutions working together on the growth plan cannot be overstated. Although the financing for international shoots comes from public money in the form of subsidies or tax incentives, private organizations have been heavily involved in the planning and execution. Local studios are consulted on nearly every step of the process.
Elaborating on the potential for return on investment, Montes cited the recent shoot for Sony’s “Venom: The Last Dance” at Ciudad de la Luz studios, which saw public investment of €1.5 million ($1.7 million) produce a return of €35 million ($39 million) into the local community. Other recent international productions that have proved fruitful for the local economy include “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” and “Under Paris.”
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