Catalonia’s blend of cultural heritage, natural beauty and cosmopolitan cities has attracted numerous filmmakers, hosting some of the most important films and TV series in history.
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It’s well-known: from the Costa Brava beaches to the mountains of the Pyrenees, the region offers a wide variety of locations that can adapt to any kind of production.
However, its strength as a production hub bordering the Mediterranean in it east goes beyond the wide array of attractive and versatile locations on offer.
Top global streaming operators and studios – Disney +, Legendary, Netflix, Amazon, Sony Pictures, Max, Apple TV – have chosen Catalonia as a destination for their productions.
One defining moment for a new era of shoots in the region was marked in 2015 by the filming of scenes of “Game of Thrones” Season 6 in Girona. That same year, Spain launched shoot tax incentives and international productions began to explore the territory alongside new production service companies, discovering a rich diversity of locations.
Beyond the stunning locations, Catalonia boasts a robust local audiovisual industry which lures international shows because of its cost-effective production offer, generous federal incentives and a wealth of highly experienced creative and tech talent as well as top-notch equipment supplies and ancillary services.
“One of the great advantages of our territory is the possibility of filming with local teams, which sometimes make up 80% of the total international production teams, including department heads, as well as the suppliers offer,” says Carlota Guerrero at Catalonia Film Commission, one key entry point for filmmakers interested in shooting in the region.
The Hollywood Connection
A well experienced production company, with offices in Tenerife, Barcelona and Lisbon, Surfilm shows a remarkable Hollywood connection.
Under co-founder Juan Cano ‘Nono,’ Surfilm has serviced for LucasFilm the production of Disney+’s “Andor” Season 2, which filmed in Muntanya de Montserrat Natural Parc, a protected natural area in Barcelona’s province.
More recently this year, upcoming Netflix original series “Cobra Kai” Season 6 rolled in iconic locations outside genius artist Antonio Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia as well as the Plaza Real, Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site, La Rambla and the Barceloneta Beach, among others.
The shoot, serviced by Surfilm, also took place in the Mediterranean coast towns of Sitges, in Barcelona, and Girona’s Tossa de Mar.
A Skydance Television production for Apple TV, sci-fi drama “Foundation” Season 3 partially lensed in Barcelona’s Parc del Laberint d’Horta, also backed by Surfilm.
Before the end of 2024, U.K. audiences will see a two-part special shot in Catalonia of the legal drama ‘The Split,” produced by BBC and Sister.
Crewing Up in Catalonia
“To count on high-level crews allows international producers to avoid bringing technical teams to Catalonia, thereby at the same time, achieving two of our main objectives: the strengthening of the local technical industry and the reduction of travel, accommodation and subsistence costs,” Surfilm’s Nono explains.
Catalonia hosts around 110 national and international feature films and TV series per year.
“Although in 2023 there was a decrease in international filming in Catalonia, due to the strikes in the U.S, this year we have recovered and even increased the figure of previous years,” Guerrero says.
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By Oct. 18, 13 international TV series have filmed this year in Catalonia, and 11 Catalan TV series, respectively compared to 6 and 12 over the whole of 2023. The final figures could increase during the fall, an usually more intense filming period.
Catalan Talent
Local productions filmed in Catalonia have made waves recently on the international scene.
A dramatic development, luring more international productions to Catalonia and the rest of Spain, was the Spanish government’s decision in December 2022 to raise the cap on tax breaks — credits and rebates — for international TV productions to €10 million ($10.85 million) per episode.
Max Original Series “Pubertat” (“Puberty”) is created by Leticia Dolera – the co-writer, lead director and star of Movistar Plus-HBO Max-produced TV skein “Perfect Life,” a double 2019 Canneseries winner, among other plaudits.
Dolera’s upcoming series narrates how the harmony of a community is shattered by a social media report of sexual assault among adolescents, which sheds light on the sexual taboos of the adults in charge of them.
The series’ 13-week shoot took place in Catalonia, in the municipalities of Terrassa, Martorell, Olesa de Montserrat, Barcelona, El Prat del Llobregat, Sabadell, Cabrils, Sant Andreu de Llavaneres and Arenys de Munt.
“Starting from the creative decision to set the plot of the series in the world of the ‘castellers’ – human castle builders – the logical decision was to film the entire series in Catalonia,” says Distinto Films’ producer Miriam Portá.
“The search for municipalities for the series’ locations was based on production issues, as its proximity to Barcelona, the headquarters of the three production companies, facilitates transport and all management. Specifically, the location of Terrassa was chosen because it is the headquarters of the ‘colla castellera’ Minyons de Terrassa, which gives life to the fictional group in ‘Pubertat.'”
Launched in 2007 by Porté to produce high quality projects about relevant cultural matters and support talented authors, Barcelona-based Distinto Films teamed for “Pubertat” with Corte y Confección and Uri Films companies, and established a co-production with Belgium’s AT-Prod.
Institutional Support
The three Catalan outfits worked together to raise funding for the project, obtaining development grants from the Catalan government’s ICEC and Europa Creativa Media, as well as production support for series from ICEC and co-production with Catalan public broadcaster 3CAT. Max is also involved in “Pubertat,” which will be launched as a Max Original Series.
The international co-production partnership with AT-Prod has allowed “Pubertat” to be one of the first productions to receive support from the Eurimages pilot program for series funding.
“In Catalonia we have technicians and authors of the highest professional level. Regarding production costs, Catalonia – and also Spain – offers an excellent level due to its competitiveness, if we compare it with neighboring European countries,” explains Porté.
“In addition, producers are lucky to be able to start building financing based on the strong institutional support from ICEC and 3Cat, the result of this policy strengthening the Catalan industry and also its language,” she adds.
“All this means that Catalan-language series and Catalan productions have significant initial financing. This facilitates our access to the rest of the financing, both national and international, and in particular, this strength combined with international projection allows us to opt for European aid, as has been the case with ‘Pubertat,’” Porté concludes.
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