Spain Film Commission Carlos Rosado

Few nations in the world have developed such a variety of film commissions as Spain, a country that grew out of its regions and whose governments have vigorously bought into the benefits of foreign and local filming.

As the country moves higher on the industry radar of big shoot locations, the Spain Film Commission is seeing rapid growth of its nationwide network, helping to advance the ambitious plan of the Spain AVS Hub.

Following the central government’s announcement in March 2021 to launch Spain’s €1.6 billion ($1.6 billion) AVS hub plan, a royal decree in October granted the SFC $5 million as direct support for actions eligible for subsidies 2022-24.

Founded in 2001, SFC covers almost the entire country and its members integrate a network with a unified management model that respects the independence and territorial scope of its partners.

“SFC has evolved from a wasted vector of the audiovisual economy into a competitive production engine that creates jobs and image in the sector,” says SFC President Carlos Rosado.

With the launch of the AVS Hub plan, “for the first time ever, the Spanish government identified the audiovisual industry as a strategic sector and gave it funding,” says Rosado.

SFC’s main plans include five closely related projects: the creation of a social network focused on Spanish talent; the strengthening of the territorial network of the SFC (known as Spain Film Friendly Land); the launch of a film transmedia platform; promoting the country as an international shooting destination (Initiative Shooting in Spain); and the creation of pilot projects for 3D models of outstanding monuments, buildings and spaces (the “Virtual Locations” program).

“The five points will be decisive for the future of the [production] industry in Spain,” says Rosado.

One of the goals of the Spain Film Talent Network is to find a common reference point with local stars inside and outside the country. For this, the Spanish film commissioner called for a who’s who of the local industry.

In cooperation with the strategy consultancy Olsberg SPI, the SFC is preparing a conference at the San Sebastian Intl. Film Festival to discuss with Mexico and Brazil the need to establish a stable talent relationship corridor.

The push to strengthen SFC’s territorial network within the Spain Friendly Land program was an immediate success. The SFC is already present in all Spanish regions except Murcia. The autonomous city of Melilla could join in October.

SFC sets up a technical analysis discussion forum to define how to deal with virtual places in the Parc Audiovisual de Catalunya in Terrassa.

It also participates as a partner in the Spain Audiovisual Bureau, a groundbreaking initiative launched in early May to promote Spain as an international destination for filming and audiovisual investment managed by ICEX Spain Trade & Investment, the country’s export and foreign investment committee, is directed.

Another of SFC’s biggest recent moves was a fam trip – organized in partnership with ICEX-Invest in Spain – which invited around 50 representatives from member companies of the MPA and other top-class American film-TV platforms and companies to travel to Spain in May. Now SFC is also hoping for recordings from India and Australia.

In addition, Rosado has developed a strategy to transform the SFC into a state entity, which requires some legal adjustments, in line with Film France, the British Film Commission and the California Film Commission. There are plans to transform the SFC into a hyper-specialized entity that will work closely with regional and local administrations.

“SFC is a success story that’s missing the last piece: state institutional status,” says Rosado.