05
de Novembre
de
2015 - 05:14
Catalonia not only attracts tourism, but is also ideal for cinema and television. The latest large production to show this is Game of Thrones, the popular series from the US channel HBO, which filmed many of the scenes for the sixth season in the Girona area, as did the films Perfume and Soldiers of Salamis. Another example is the more recent, Ocho apellidos catalanes, which though it did not make the Festa del Cine this week, is one of the November releases that has generated the most expectation.
The fever for US series has turned this fact into a phenomenon, but the truth is that the history of cinema already has a long list of international productions filmed on Catalan territory. Apart from the examples mentioned above, Vicky Cristina Barcelona by Woody Allen, All About my Mother by Pedro Almodóvar, The Machinist by Brad Anderson or Black Bread by Agustí Villaronga also occupy pride of place.
However, hoping to be chosen by the best Hollywood directors is not the only incentive for cities to welcome film productions, because appearing on the big screen acts as an important shop window for tourism and professionals in the sector. And, naturally, having a whole team of technicians and actors filming on location also provides a boost for the local economy.
Uniqueness of the Catalan ecosystem
The great variety of locations is a key factor in the decision of domestic and international producers to choose Catalonia. "It proves the truth of the cliché about being able to ski in the morning and swim in the sea in the afternoon and then go out for dinner in a Michelin star restaurant at night," says the head of the Catalunya Film Commission, Carlota Guerrero. There are a variety of settings that make us "very competitive" and that help the "filming of a lot of scenes in a short space of time."
Moreover, there is a second advantageous factor in Catalonia: the climate. "We get a lot of sun and not a lot of rain, which is a huge help when filming exteriors," says Guerrero, who adds to the list of strong points, the quality of the professionals and companies in the Catalan audiovisual sector.
All of this means that Catalonia boasted a total of 3,793 productions in 2014, according to the annual report of the Catalunya Film Comission, 1,299 more projects than in 2013. In Barcelona there were 3,057 film shoots, with only 736 distributed around the rest of the country. This latter group includes Tarragona, with 100 productions, Terrasa, with 90, El Prat de Llobregat, with 81 and Sitges, with 70. All of which shows that it is the province of Barcelona that attracts the majority of productions.
Though feature films get the most attention, the majority of work in the sector is advertising. In Catalonia as a whole, some 28.1% of productions are publicity spots, far from the 5.7% represented by films, documentaries and series. "We do not have data that is trustworthy enough to say which of the two has the most economic impact on the audiovisual industry, but logic leads me to say that, despite generating more revenue per project, advertising shoots are ahead," says Guerrero.
More than 70,000 euros a day
To talk about the benefits for the local economy from audiovisual productions, it is necessary to look at the different taxes in the sector. Each local authority has taxes for using public spaces, which stand at 593.78 euros for advertising productions and 332.72 euros for photography projects. Films, series and other cultural projects are exempt from paying, as in the case of Game of Thrones in Girona.
To this must be added extras for filming in natural parks, on the coast or for civil enforcement officers if streets need to be cut off, among many other costs. "We are constantly paying taxes, because the impact of each shoot is immense. And if you are making a film, even though you do not have to pay the same as for advertising, you also have to cover the costs for the team's food, accommodation, transport..." says Albert Soler, executive producer of the Mamma Team production company.
Moreover, to these costs have to be added those for filming in private spaces. Soler explains that this can cause costs to rise from 2,000 to 6,000 euros a day, depending on the type of location. Among the most common, are flats and houses, cafés, terraces and even "the open spaces of the Fira de Barcelona".
With all of this in mind, Soler estimates that the impact of filming an ad on the local economy can be between 70,000 and 120,000 euros a day. "Almost 90% of our budget stays in the city; we production companies have a very small profit margin," he concludes critically.
Laughable tax relief
Part of the problem, for the executive producer, lies in the tax relief production companies can claim from the government: "There are countries that return around 40% of what is invested. That means that the state knows that if we put in 100 euros, they take 60 in tax and return 40 to the production company." In the case of Spain, this tax relief for companies is 20%, a figure that Soler considers "unappealing when attracting more film shoots to the country."
While this figure makes it seem that the efforts of governments to reactivate the sector are not enough, the truth is that at the beginning of the year, the Spanish government approved a 15% reduction on foreign shoots. However, the measure only applies to foreign productions that spend more than a million euros.
Professionalism of the Catalan sector
When talking of filming, Soler makes a difference between a co-production and a service. In the first case, two production companies choose to work together and, if they are from different countries, they add together the public and private funding from each side. However, with a service, the foreign production company contracts the services of a local production company so that they organise the filming, but without it being considered a co-production.
Catalonia is a service leader in Spain and the Mamma Team is a specialist in this type of work, both for advertising and cultural productions. And the fact that foreign production companies choose Catalonia over Madrid is down to "the climate, the geography and the readiness of the people and cities to accept shoots, but also for the professionalism and quality of the companies and workers in the sector," says Soler, who adds that Barcelona is Europe's second city in terms of attracting film shoots.
Attracting tourism through the big screen
The presence of the filming of Game of Thrones in Osuna (Sevilla) has caused tourist interest in the municipality to grow by 35%, according to the local authority. In the case of Ireland, the Northern Ireland Screen production company, which managed the locations, says that the impact of filming on the local economy has reached 140 million euros.
Bearing all of this in mind, will Girona benefit from the privilege of hosting the HBO series? "In the immediate aftermath we have seen that Girona has gone from hosting 30 productions in 2014 to having 47 between January and September of 2015," says Carlota Guerrero; and while not wanting to directly link the rise to the series, she believes that the production will have a positive effect when choosing the city as a location and as a holiday destination.
However, for Soler, the benefits are not so clear: "Professional promotion, yes; tourist promotion, no. Catalonia will gain due to the reputation of its technicians and specialists... Including in advertising. Knowing that Game of Thrones was filmed here and also that Hollywood has come here, is because there are good resources and the filming is done well."
It is still too early to talk about the benefits of the filming of the US series in Girona. Nevertheless, the city council has already put forward a figure of 3,670,244 euros for the advertising impact generated for the city until the middle of September.
The fever for US series has turned this fact into a phenomenon, but the truth is that the history of cinema already has a long list of international productions filmed on Catalan territory. Apart from the examples mentioned above, Vicky Cristina Barcelona by Woody Allen, All About my Mother by Pedro Almodóvar, The Machinist by Brad Anderson or Black Bread by Agustí Villaronga also occupy pride of place.
However, hoping to be chosen by the best Hollywood directors is not the only incentive for cities to welcome film productions, because appearing on the big screen acts as an important shop window for tourism and professionals in the sector. And, naturally, having a whole team of technicians and actors filming on location also provides a boost for the local economy.
Uniqueness of the Catalan ecosystem
The great variety of locations is a key factor in the decision of domestic and international producers to choose Catalonia. "It proves the truth of the cliché about being able to ski in the morning and swim in the sea in the afternoon and then go out for dinner in a Michelin star restaurant at night," says the head of the Catalunya Film Commission, Carlota Guerrero. There are a variety of settings that make us "very competitive" and that help the "filming of a lot of scenes in a short space of time."
Moreover, there is a second advantageous factor in Catalonia: the climate. "We get a lot of sun and not a lot of rain, which is a huge help when filming exteriors," says Guerrero, who adds to the list of strong points, the quality of the professionals and companies in the Catalan audiovisual sector.
All of this means that Catalonia boasted a total of 3,793 productions in 2014, according to the annual report of the Catalunya Film Comission, 1,299 more projects than in 2013. In Barcelona there were 3,057 film shoots, with only 736 distributed around the rest of the country. This latter group includes Tarragona, with 100 productions, Terrasa, with 90, El Prat de Llobregat, with 81 and Sitges, with 70. All of which shows that it is the province of Barcelona that attracts the majority of productions.
 |
| 'Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona' is one of the films that has most promoted the city |
Though feature films get the most attention, the majority of work in the sector is advertising. In Catalonia as a whole, some 28.1% of productions are publicity spots, far from the 5.7% represented by films, documentaries and series. "We do not have data that is trustworthy enough to say which of the two has the most economic impact on the audiovisual industry, but logic leads me to say that, despite generating more revenue per project, advertising shoots are ahead," says Guerrero.
More than 70,000 euros a day
To talk about the benefits for the local economy from audiovisual productions, it is necessary to look at the different taxes in the sector. Each local authority has taxes for using public spaces, which stand at 593.78 euros for advertising productions and 332.72 euros for photography projects. Films, series and other cultural projects are exempt from paying, as in the case of Game of Thrones in Girona.
To this must be added extras for filming in natural parks, on the coast or for civil enforcement officers if streets need to be cut off, among many other costs. "We are constantly paying taxes, because the impact of each shoot is immense. And if you are making a film, even though you do not have to pay the same as for advertising, you also have to cover the costs for the team's food, accommodation, transport..." says Albert Soler, executive producer of the Mamma Team production company.
Moreover, to these costs have to be added those for filming in private spaces. Soler explains that this can cause costs to rise from 2,000 to 6,000 euros a day, depending on the type of location. Among the most common, are flats and houses, cafés, terraces and even "the open spaces of the Fira de Barcelona".
With all of this in mind, Soler estimates that the impact of filming an ad on the local economy can be between 70,000 and 120,000 euros a day. "Almost 90% of our budget stays in the city; we production companies have a very small profit margin," he concludes critically.
Laughable tax relief
Part of the problem, for the executive producer, lies in the tax relief production companies can claim from the government: "There are countries that return around 40% of what is invested. That means that the state knows that if we put in 100 euros, they take 60 in tax and return 40 to the production company." In the case of Spain, this tax relief for companies is 20%, a figure that Soler considers "unappealing when attracting more film shoots to the country."
While this figure makes it seem that the efforts of governments to reactivate the sector are not enough, the truth is that at the beginning of the year, the Spanish government approved a 15% reduction on foreign shoots. However, the measure only applies to foreign productions that spend more than a million euros.
Professionalism of the Catalan sector
When talking of filming, Soler makes a difference between a co-production and a service. In the first case, two production companies choose to work together and, if they are from different countries, they add together the public and private funding from each side. However, with a service, the foreign production company contracts the services of a local production company so that they organise the filming, but without it being considered a co-production.
Catalonia is a service leader in Spain and the Mamma Team is a specialist in this type of work, both for advertising and cultural productions. And the fact that foreign production companies choose Catalonia over Madrid is down to "the climate, the geography and the readiness of the people and cities to accept shoots, but also for the professionalism and quality of the companies and workers in the sector," says Soler, who adds that Barcelona is Europe's second city in terms of attracting film shoots.
Attracting tourism through the big screen
The presence of the filming of Game of Thrones in Osuna (Sevilla) has caused tourist interest in the municipality to grow by 35%, according to the local authority. In the case of Ireland, the Northern Ireland Screen production company, which managed the locations, says that the impact of filming on the local economy has reached 140 million euros.
Bearing all of this in mind, will Girona benefit from the privilege of hosting the HBO series? "In the immediate aftermath we have seen that Girona has gone from hosting 30 productions in 2014 to having 47 between January and September of 2015," says Carlota Guerrero; and while not wanting to directly link the rise to the series, she believes that the production will have a positive effect when choosing the city as a location and as a holiday destination.
However, for Soler, the benefits are not so clear: "Professional promotion, yes; tourist promotion, no. Catalonia will gain due to the reputation of its technicians and specialists... Including in advertising. Knowing that Game of Thrones was filmed here and also that Hollywood has come here, is because there are good resources and the filming is done well."
It is still too early to talk about the benefits of the filming of the US series in Girona. Nevertheless, the city council has already put forward a figure of 3,670,244 euros for the advertising impact generated for the city until the middle of September.