Madrid has become a film reference thanks to the intense audiovisual activity carried out here during the year, which means the city’s image is present on the big screen all over the world. The Spanish capital is the preferred choice of many prestigious national and international film directors for their filming work, owing to its excellent locations and solid audiovisual structure.
With the aim of increasing filming for cinema, television and other audiovisual productions, Promoción Madrid, the Council’s city marketing agency, is sponsoring the Madrid Film Commission. This non-profit entity was created in 2003 and provides the film industry with valuable advice and information on filming in Madrid.
The City Council also supports major film-related events such as the Madrid de Cine Spanish Film Screenings festival. The 6th edition of the festival takes place in the city from 19 to 21 June and will bring together leading representatives of the international industry for the promotion of Spanish cinema. Over the three days, international buyers and Spanish producers will have the opportunity to see the most recent home-grown feature films, hold interviews with directors, actors and actresses and to create a business space.
In 2010, the Spanish capital provided the location for some major film productions. The Madrid Film Commission worked with 150 audiovisual projects in the capital (104 Spanish, 46 international). Of these, eight were international feature films, including Intruders, directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and starring Clive Owen, Pilar López de Ayala and Daniel Brühl, which was filmed in Madrid for six weeks and another three in London; and The Cold Light of Day, directed by Mabrouk El Mechri and starring Bruce Willis, Sigourney Weaver and Henry Cavill, and shot in Madrid over a period of eight weeks.
Among the Spanish feature films, it is also worth noting that Pedro Almodóvar’s latest work, La piel que habito (The Skin I Live In), featuring Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya, was partly shot in Madrid.
Other audiovisual productions were also made last year in the capital with the collaboration of the Madrid Film Commission. Among these is the feature film Muertos de amor (Death by Love), shot in Quinta de los Molinos Park; the shorts Hombre con nube (Man with Cloud) and Low Cost, both filmed at the Viaduct; the short film La pasión de Adrián, shot in the Retiro Park; the TV movie Tormenta (Storm), which includes images of Parque del Oeste, and the Nike ads filmed in Plaza de Ramales and Gran Vía.
Gran Vía of cinema
Gran Vía is one of the streets most closely linked to the film industry. Acclaimed directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro Amenábar and Alex de la Iglesia have presented their view of this avenue in films like La flor de mi secreto (The Flower of My Secret), Abre los Ojos (Open Your Eyes), and El Día de la Bestia (The Day of the Beast) respectively.
In 2010, Promoción Madrid continued Gran Vía’s relationship with cinema by co-producing, with the State Society for Cultural Commemorations (SECC), four short films which pay tribute to the street’s first 100 years of existence. The films were made by Max Lemcke, Chus Gutiérrez, Juana Macías and Sergio Candel and were shown in the Cines Callao movie theatre as a feature film entitled Pequeñas historias para una Gran Vía (Little Stories for a Great Street).
The work of these directors is a journey through different stories, from childhood to the golden years, and always with reference to “La Gran Vía es vida” (Gran Vía is Life). Childhood is represented in A 400 pasos (400 Steps Away) by Max Lemcke, which takes a look at solitude, while Nuestro primer amanecer (Our First Sunrise) by Chus Gutiérrez explores adolescence from the perspective of three teenage girls, portraying a musical nightlife full of vitality. Thousands of stories which converge at the same point is the idea presented by Juana Macías in Gran Vía AM/PM. And finally, Valencia-born director Sergio Candel reflects the golden years in his Un siglo de vida (A Century of Life). It’s nimble editing, where the characters disappear in order to make way for the majestic buildings that tell the story of Gran Vía.
Locations like Madrid Río
In addition to Gran Vía, Madrid also boasts other prime locations. Favourite spots for filming include Casa de Campo, the Prado and Reina Sofía museums, Puente de Segovia Bridge, Plaza Mayor, Paseo de la Castellana, Madrid’s Amusement Park, the Ateneo, San Miguel Market, the Teleférico cable car, the Fine Arts Circle, Puerta del Sol, Atocha Station, Plaza de Oriente, and now Madrid Río.
All these unique places, and the solid audiovisual structure that Madrid offers, have made it one of the most film-friendly cities in the world. Promoción Madrid has played its part by adopting the film industry as a tourism promotion tool, given its international character and its potential to make other countries see the capital as an attractive destination for tourists and investors alike.
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