Tenerife's great year: 145 productions and 64 million euros

The Tenerife Film Commission has collected data that certifies the growing economic impact of audiovisual production on the island, which hosted a total of 145 productions in 2024.

By type of productions, Tenerife hosted in 2024 until 11 fiction feature films. The increase in the number of fiction series for television stands out, reaching a total of 14 compared to 6 the previous year. They were recorded 5 television shows, as well as 5 documentaries, and 3 docuseries. In parallel, they carried out 36 advertising spots and 43 photography sessions. As for the exclusive post-production projects, there were 6. Of the total, there were 4 post-production projects for fiction series and 2 post-production projects for feature films. In reference to the record of filming days on the island, taking into consideration all the days dedicated to each production or advertising session, they were raised to 896 days.

All of these projects involved an economic investment of 64.920.276. Animation is consolidated in the sector, occupying a 32% of the total investment in this type of projects. Likewise, as a novelty, 4% of the investment corresponds to projects exclusively of post-production, which shows that audiovisual activity in Tenerife is evolving and the digital post-production sector is gaining relevance, compared to previous years.

The filming of feature films, series and advertising, together with animation productions, generated a total of 3,692 job hires corresponding to technical and artistic positions, which represents 12.52% more than in 2023, and 4,927 extras and acting hires. Considering the origin of the productions, those of national origin lead the list, with 46, followed by those from Germany (28) and those from the United Kingdom (24). 31 projects have come from other countries in the European Union, while American and Canadian productions amounted to 8 and 3, respectively.

The most relevant productions of 2024

Among the foreign films that Tenerife hosted in 2024, the British feature film stands out My Fault: London rolled hand in hand Pokeepsie Films, Álex de la Iglesia's production company. Everytime, a film directed by Sandra Wollner co-produced by Tourmalet Films, Panama Film y The Barricades, was filmed entirely in Punta del Hidalgo. In addition, in 2024, it obtained the sustainable audiovisual production seal from the Tenerife Film Commission, thanks to the success in the implementation of the Sustainability Plan. Under the volcano is another auteur film of Polish origin that was filmed on the island and was proposed to compete at the 2025 Oscars for Best Foreign Film.

2024 was also the year of volcano stories. Among the national feature films that the island has hosted in 2024, the following stand out: under a volcano of Secuoya Studios and Álamo Productions, which had the services of Riverflow Pictures. A romantic comedy that unfolds in the midst of the threat of a volcanic eruption in Garachico, starring actor William Levy. Solos, is a dramatic comedy, based on the work of the same name by Paloma Bravo, directed by Tenerife director Guillermo Ríos and produced by Eduardo Campoy, director of Álamo Producciones and head of Film at Secuoya Studios. It had the local services of Riverflow Pictures. It is worth mentioning the feature film The mantids, co-produced by MGC of Tenerife, director Dídac Gimeno's debut film, and Islands, a feature film directed by Marina Seresesky, which was filmed on location in El Puerto de la Cruz. It is a production of E-media Canary, with AF Films, Match Point, Meridional Producciones and BTF Media, which has marked the return to the big screen of the actress and singer Ana Belén.

Among the television series, the Swedish production stands out Helicopter Heist to Netflix, with the production services of Volcano Films. They also highlight the second season of the BBC series The Gold and the German series Forever summer, whose plot is based on a crime that is committed in Tenerife and was attended to by the production company Seven Islands Film. Among the Spanish series are Arcadia by Secuoya Studios and The Head of Mediapro Studios, which returned to the island to film its third season. Local catering companies, camera rentals, lighting equipment, vehicles, machinery, sound, DIT and film-friendly hotels worked on these productions.

Los visual effects (VFX) from the fourth season of The Outer Banks were made in Tenerife, thanks to the work of the 22Dogs VFX company, while the VFX studio Flaming Frames made, among others, those of the series Nine bodies in a Mexican Morgue. In the section of advertising, la isla fue escenario de los rodajes de diversos spots publicitarios de marcas como Citroen Aircross, Giorgio Armani, Birckenstock, Zalando con Sarah Jessica Parker, The North Face & JD Sports, con servicios de las productoras locales Volcano Films, Boudika Productions, Solworks y Twentyfour-seven, entre otras.

Animation in Tenerife

The animation sector left in Tenerife a balance of 14 projects completed during 2024. In addition, work was done on 11 multi-year projects. Con 19 million euros of investment, productions of this type accounted for 32% of total investment in the audiovisual sector in 2024, compared to 18% the previous year. Likewise, animation productions generated a total of 1099 hires of employment, 64.76% more than in 2023.

Among the main animation productions, the acclaimed Black Butterflies. This feature film, directed by David Baute and produced by Tinglado Films, Ikiru Films and Anangu, has obtained the Goya, Forqué and Gaudí Prize.

Others projects highlighted They have been the reboot of the series Dora the explorer, for the first time in 3D and in which the Tenerife animation studio Tomavision participated through Pipeline Studios, and the films Furrytales: Caterella y The Day The Up: A Looney Tunes Movie from Warner Bros and Tonic DNA, which had the services of Tomavision. Additionally, the Canarian company BWater Studios carried out Kayara, in co-production with Tunche Films, in Peru.