Film Production Activity Up 17% in Malaga

Date of publication: 03/02/2012 – Málaga Film Office

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Film Production Activity Up 17% in Malaga During 2011, Malaga City Council’s film office continued to generate income for the city thanks to a 17% increase in audiovisual productions with respect to the year before.

The balance sheet of the Malaga Film Office – attached to the City Council’s Film Festival, which in turn is controlled by the Department of Culture – is very positive, despite the international crisis affecting the audiovisual industry.

Of a total of 365 projects managed by the film office, 151 productions were filmed – up 17% with respect to the year before – which involved obtaining 234 film permits in coordination with the different municipal departments.

The direct economic impact of film production activities on the local economy also registered a year-on-year increase of 15.5%, totalling €1,439,149.

This activity is an important source of income for the city, especially for its tourism industry (hotels, restaurants, transport, etc.), as well as creating jobs (direct employment of the local audiovisual industry’s workforce), and contributing to the city’s international promotion.

The productions filmed in Malaga in 2011 featured the Spanish TV movies "Luna Llena" and "Mi gitana," and the Swedish production "A Place in the Sun"; in addition to short films, such as "El amor a los 20 años," "Pescaíto Frito," etc.

As in previous years, one of the productions that has most frequently used Malaga for location shooting is the Andalusian TV series "Arrayán," while other TV programmes include "Comer, Beber, Amar" and "Me cambio de Familia", both Spanish productions, and foreign programmes such as "A Taste of Summer" and "The Hour Travel Show" (UK), and "Legend of Golf (Japan)," among others. As to documentaries, the most outstanding include "Destino Málaga" (Spain), "Blind Fortune" (Spain-Holland), "Europa, viaje por el agua, Picasso: época azul" and "Vivir en el extranjero" (Japan), and "Blue Ocean Tourism" (South Korea).

The filming of "Blind Fortune" in Malaga

Advertising spots featured Foto Fija Davidoff (Switzerland), Young Magazine (Japan), Ford Transit and Bentley (England), C&A (Holland), a company that uses Malaga for location shooting on a yearly basis, a number of spots for Unicaja (Spain), Cruzcampo (Spain), Honda (UK), and Kia (Germany). Videos included those of the 17th edition of the French Film Festival of Malaga, Andalusia, Deporte de por vida, Honda Civic Europe, General Óptica, and Food Messenger, in addition to the video-clip Clueso: Running (Germany) and the institutional video La Ruta Heraclea.

In addition to offering advice, attracting business and managing film permits with the aim of promoting Malaga as a film location, the Malaga Film Office carries out other promotional activities via its website www.malagafimoffice.com, available in English, German, Chinese, Japanese and, soon, in Korean as well as, and through the networks to which it belongs, such as Red de Ciudades de Cine (Andalucía Film Commission), Spain Film Commission, the European network EUFCN and the international network AFCI. Likewise, Malaga Film Office continues its internationalization process, attending international film festivals, including those of Cannes and San Sebastian, where it has showcased Malaga as an ideal film location thanks to its infrastructures, varied landscapes and climate, and where a number of interesting leads have been made as regards potential projects scheduled for 2012.