Madrid recovers its filming activity after Covid-19

The balance of filming in 2021 in the city of Madrid demonstrates the complete recovery of filming in the city, reaching record figures in series and film filming. During the year, the city was the filming scene of 68 series, 44 films and more than 350 advertisements, according to data from Madrid Film Office.

The filming promotion office of the Madrid City Council attached to the Delegated Area of Tourism has indicated that more than 790 projects were filmed in the city through a public highway occupation permit, intended for medium and large-scale productions, to which must be added the projects filmed through communicated act type permits, used in light productions.

The strong demand for content and the efficiency of the sector in adapting Covid-19 security protocols have been determining factors in the rapid recovery of filming in the city. These data show that Madrid continues to establish itself as a reference production center in southern Europe.

The filming balance data shows the consolidation of Madrid in recent years as a reference center in the production of content, especially series, recovering the growing trend of the last decade. Throughout 2021 the city hosted the filming of 68 different series, the highest number recorded to date, surpassing the previous record of 66 series filmed in 2019, the year before the pandemic. Among the series filmed in 2021 are 61 fiction and 7 docuseries.

Among the series filmed in Madrid in 2021, international projects such as the American series stand out The return of the spy y Warrior Nun (season 2), both filmed in Madrid for Netflix US through the service production company Fresco Films. The French production also had filming in the city All Those Things We Never Said (TCC, Studiocanal, STARZ) and the British series The English (Drama Republic, Chalk River) para BBC y Amazon Prime Video.

In 2021, the city was also the protagonist of the filming of the fifth and final season of the successful The Money Heist, produced by Vancouver Media for Netflix, a platform for which, among others, the new seasons of Elite (Zeta Audiovisual), The time I give you (Film Cutting and Making) and The neighbor (Zeta Audiovisual). It was also the scene of the first Spanish production for Apple TV+, Now and then (Bambu Producciones), and the HBO Max series No news (Warner Bros), Come on John (100 Replies-Mediapro Studio), everything else (Mandarina Productions) and the expected García (Zeta Studios).

As for national platforms, the city hosted the filming of The Immortal, a new project by DLO Producciones for Movistar+ in collaboration with the American network Telemundo International. Other Spanish production series filmed in Madrid are the second seasons of The Unit (Buendia Estudios) and Nasdrovia (Globomedia) for Movistar+; the new and long-awaited remake of Stories to keep you from sleeping (Viacom International, Isla Audiovisual, Prointel) para RTVE y Amazon Prime; Intervías (Alea Media) for Mediaset; Cardo (Buendía Estudios, Suma Latina) for Atresmedia; either Express (Mediapro for Starzplay).

Madrid as a movie setting

In the balance of 2021, the following stand out: 44 feature-length fiction films shot in the city, a figure also higher than that recorded in all previous years, including the 35 identified in 2019, the year in which the highest figure to date had been reached. This significant increase of more than 25% compared to 2019 reflects the recovery of the growing trend identified in previous years, although it is also partly explained by the concentration in 2021 of both the filming scheduled for 2021 and those that were paralyzed in 2020 and which, unlike television series, have taken longer to reactivate.

Among the first films shot are titles as varied as Parallel mothers (Desire) by Pedro Almodóvar, Manticore (Here and There Films, BTeam Pictures, TV3, Movistar+) by Carlos Vermut, the Spanish-Belgian co-production On the margins (On The Fringe, Panache Productions, RTVE) de Juan Digo Botto, The crystal girls (Netflix España, Federation Spain) by Jota Linares, From Little Red Riding Hood to Wolf (Bowfinger International Pictures) by Chus Gutiérrez, Josefina (White Leaf Producciones, Featurent, RTVE, Telemadrid) by Javier Marco or the Hollywood blockbuster Uncharted (PlayStation Productions, Naughty Dog, Columbia Pictures, Atlas Entertainment), directed by Rubén Fleischer and which filmed some interior scenes in city buildings.

Added to them are other titles such as Rainbow (Telecinco Cinema, Andy Joke, Colosé Producciones, Los Amigos de Dorothy, (Mediaset España) by Paco León, A thousand miles from Christmas (Netflix Spain, Nobody is perfect) by Álvaro Fernández Armero, Pity (Pokeepsie Films, Spal Films, Link-up y Crudo Films) de Eduardo Casanova, Full train. Destination Asturias (Bowfinger International Pictures, Atresmedia Cine, Buendía Estudios, Movistar+) by Santiago Segura, The test (Atresmedia Cine, Warner Bros. Spain, Álamo Audiovisual Productions) by Dani de la Orden, Emperor Project (Vaca Films, Sábado Películos, The Playtime Group) by Jorge Coira, Objects (Tandem Films) by Jorge Dorado and old (Eye Slice Pictures, La Dalia Films) by Raúl Cerezo, Fernando González Gómez, among others.

Other projects

Regarding advertising, during 2021 the streets of Madrid were the scene of more than 350 advertisements and 50 photographic reports advertising de mediana o gran envergadura. La ciudad fue escogida así para el rodaje de las campañas de marcas como Amazon, Audi, Axe, Bankinter, Bbva, Beefeater, Bershka, BMW, Budweiser, Burger King, C&A, Cabify, Campofrío, Carrefour, Cervezas Alhambra, Citroën, Coca-Cola, Dacia, Danone, Decathlon, Deutsche Bank, Ecoembes, El Corte Ingles, Ford, La ONCE, Mapfre, Google, Hyundai, Iberdrola, Ikea, Jaguar, Jazztel, Jeep , Kellogs, KIA, La Caixa, Lexus, Línea Directa, Loterías, McDonald’s, Mahou, Mercedes Benz, MG, Mitsubishi, Movistar, Nintendo, Nissan, Nokia, Orange, Renault, Repsol, Sabadell, Samsung, San Miguel, Schweppes, Seat, Skoda , Telefónica , Toyota, Uber, Vitaldent, Vodafonem, Volkswagen, Xiaomi, Zalando y Zara.
MasterChef

On the other hand, the City Council processed permits to occupy public roads for more than 110 entertainment programs and television broadcasts. Among the entertainment programs filmed in the city, widely distributed titles such as MasterChef, MasterChef Celebrities y Sewing masters (RTVE), Where were you then and Mask Singer (Atresmedia), Got Talent (Mediaset), Illustrious ignoramuses, The resistance y Radio Gaga (Movistar+) and Disassembling Madrid (Telemadrid).

Madrid Film Office activity

Madrid Film Office assisted 397 projects in 2021 (135 international and 262 national) in information and advisory work in the search for locations, help in the processing of filming permits, coordination with different departments of the City Council and mediation with other administrations and institutions. Among them, it is worth highlighting 56 series, 34 movies, 34 advertisements and 53 television programs.

In relation to the activities to promote the Madrid audiovisual sector and the city as a filming scene, in 2021 the municipal office participated in 8 audiovisual festivals and markets, 4 of them international and 4 national: FITUR Screen (Madrid), European Film Market (Berlin), Marché du Film (Cannes), Conecta Fiction (Pamplona), Iberseries Platino Industria (Madrid), Series Mania (Lille), Shooting Locations Marketplace (Valladolid), Ventana Sur (Buenos Aires).

Madrid Film Office also reinforced its collaboration with festivals y eventos que impulsan el encuentro industrial, la formación profesional y la promoción y divulgación del audiovisual madrileño a través del patrocinio de 7 eventos desarrollados en la ciudad. Apoyó la organización de Landing Madrid 2021, encuentro de comunicación audiovisual turística organizado junto al CIFFT (International Committee of Tourism Film Festivals) y Terres Travel & Landscape Communication. Patrocinó el Encuentro Virtual Spain-Usa “Animación Y Vfx En España”, organizado por la Spain Film Commission como estrategia para afianzar relaciones de la industria audiovisual española con la norteamericana, las III Jornadas de Formación en Producción Sostenible, desarrolladas en el marco de Another Way Film Festival con el objetivo de sensibilizar e impulsar medidas sostenibles en el ámbito del sector audiovisual, y Madrid Pitchbox 2021, evento anual de presentación de proyectos de serie y largometraje a prescriptores de la industria organizado por la plataforma FilmMarket Hub.

During the year, Madrid Film Office also supported the new edition of Microsalon 2021, feria de la fotografía y el audiovisual organizado por la Asociación Española de Directoras y Directores de Fotografía (AEC), que en su última edición apostó por el edificio municipal La Nave para la celebración del evento. Reforzó su apoyo al festival de series Serielizados Fest Madrid, que en 2021 amplió su programación en la ciudad y estableció el centro cultural municipal CentroCentro como sede principal. Y, con motivo de la celebración de 125 aniversario de la llegada del cine a la ciudad, patrocinó en el marco del festival de cortometrajes Notodofilm Fest el premio extraordinario “Madrid. 125 años de cine”, destinado a incentivar la creación y mostrar Madrid como escenario de rodajes.

It also offered technical support to two important events that have the support of the Madrid City Council through the Area of Economy, Innovation and Employment: the Madrid Cinema Window, organized by the Madrid Audiovisual Association (AMA); and the Film Academy Residency Program, to support emerging talent for the development of audiovisual projects linked to the city and developed in collaboration with the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences. The Economics area also announced its first aid to the audiovisual sector in 2021, aimed at supporting the production and distribution of works linked to the city of Madrid.

In the line of action aimed at disseminating Madrid's audiovisual heritage and promoting audiovisual tourism in the city, Madrid Film Office incorporated a film catalog and moviemap on its website in 2021 with more than 1,100 files of audiovisual projects filmed in the city, and carried out a project of photography reports from the peripheral districts to publicize the potential of the locations of the 14 districts that extend beyond the central almond. delimited by the M30, whose progressive incorporation into the catalog of locations will be completed in 2022. At Fitur Screen 2021, the municipal office presented two new audiovisual tourism brochures, El Madrid de Álex de la Iglesia and Madrid, capital of the series (II).

During 2021, Madrid Film Office also organized the third edition of the Awards My Madrid of Cinema, a photography and video contest on Instagram developed in collaboration with EGEDA, and collaborated with the seventh edition of the Open House Madrid festival through the OpenFilm guided routes through the neighborhoods of La Guindalera and Lavapiés, aimed at highlighting the audiovisual, architectural and urban heritage of the city.