Concha Jaime (Buendía Estudios Canarias): “The infrastructure of the islands is growing at a good pace with modern sets and qualified personnel”

Buendía Estudios Canarias exemplifies the success story of a national production company with an island arm that operates from the Canary Islands, converted into a European film set thanks to a consolidating industry, a favorable climate and notable tax deductions. Concha Jaime, general director, reviews the current situation of the production company, explains the state of the Canarian industrial fabric and addresses the opportunities for industrial production that exist in the territory.

In June 2020, the period of paralysis of the production and uncertainty After a buoyant economic period for in-house production due to the fever of platform originals and the global success of content with a local label, Telefónica and Atresmedia received the green light from the European Commission to shape Buendía Studios. An ambitious project aimed at a foreseeable global expansion, given that in its presentation they aimed at the “production of audiovisual content in Spanish throughout the world” using an already existing infrastructure and experience in its main target markets: Spain, Latin America and the US Hispanic.

For some time now, and after a period of inflection as a result of the ever-changing consumption habits of viewers and the reformulations of the business models of the large global players, the industry has restabilized, although it has changed its production nodes. To the ambitious plans of the Spain Audiovisual Hub To position Spain as a global production node, a rediscovered local vocation, reinforced by the territorial and tax singularities of territories such as Basque Country or Canarias.

Possibly developed as an industrial response to continue exploiting an alternative route of services to third parties to the always fragile tourism, the strategy of reconfiguring the Canary Islands as an audiovisual focus seems to be advancing in leaps and bounds. In 2024, the archipelago accumulated 154 film and series shoots, leaving an economic impact of 218 million euros and generating more than 14,000 direct jobs, according to data from Canary Islands Films and the Culture area of ​​the Autonomous Government. This phenomenon has not only caused the consolidation of an industrial fabric that not so long ago depended on peninsular resources, but also the creation of companies that seek to take advantage of market opportunities.

Some of them are local initiatives; others, reformulations of existing businesses on the islands, which are transformed to be capable of absorbing the requirements that come with global productions. A third group are those companies that start from a peninsular initiative of state scope and that constitute local businesses to operate with greater solvency from the territory, as is the case of Buendía Estudios Canarias. Directed by Concha Jaime, the company seeks to go beyond functioning as a satellite of the Atresmedia and Movistar company, becoming a local reference and supporting the consolidation of the industrial fabric of the islands. His current objectives and his analysis of the territory's opportunities are revealed in this interview.

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The ties between Buendía Estudios and Buendía Estudios Canarias

Buendía Estudios Canarias began its activity just a few years ago. With what objectives was it born? How does this company belonging to Buendía Estudios propose itself?

Buendía Estudios Canarias was born at the end of 2021, although we began our activity in 2022 as a subsidiary of Buendía Estudios. Like the parent company, we are dedicated to the creation, development and production of fiction, documentary and entertainment content on the islands. Since we were established, we have promoted projects such as Tefía's nights, Camilo Superstar o Marbella.

Our goal is consolidate production with local talent and, in the process, reinforce the industrial capacities that exist here to strengthen the industrial fabric of the territory; of course, taking advantage of the financial tools that the archipelago offers us to carry out our own projects. We are also open to co-productions or even providing services to other production companies if the case arises. That is to say: we work in any of the areas, models and moments that may arise in the field of audiovisual production.

To carry out your projects, do you opt for a model of own management of technical and human resources, or do you opt for a more common structure, dependent on rentals from third-party companies?

In some of the productions it is true that we can subcontract depending on the model we work with, but our objective is to directly use both infrastructure and local personnel.

“Entering entertainment would be a very important step”

Buendía Estudios was born from the union of Atresmedia and Movistar Plus+. What remains of that initial concept? Has one of the two aspects assumed a predominant role or does the balance continue?

Buendía Estudios Canarias maintains the structure of Buendía Estudios, in which Movistar and Atresmedia They have equal weight. We work for the projects they request from us, but we dedicate ourselves more to self-produced formats that we offer both to them and to other platforms. Buendía Estudios Vizcaya, the other of our subsidiaries, works in the same way.

How does the conversation between Buendía Estudios and Buendía Estudios Canarias develop?

From the headquarters, the objective is to manage the productions of the most optimal way at the territory level depending on the product, needs and requirements. When we receive orders or have our own project that needs to be executed, the teams of the companies are tight, but they support each other and support each other. As you can understand, the parent company works as in any type of company, and it is the subsidiaries that rely on their staff.

Other very important variables must be taken into account throughout this process, such as locations or the incentive financing system, which makes it easier for a production to take place.

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A model of constant growth

What is the structure of Buendía Estudios Canarias and what level of production do they aim for annually?

We are oriented to carry out original projects, with efficient production and financial management within the Canary Islands. Since our creation, just over three and a half years ago, we have achieved a production rate that is not only very good, but also continues to increase. We have released series like Tefía's nights, Camilo Superstar, One less life in the Canary Islands, What are you waiting for?, Marbella o FoQ. The new generation, and we are also finishing filming and post-production of many others, such as The maid's daughters, hidden strokes, The Girl o Alibis, a feature film that we will release on November 28. We are also starting pre-production of A derived.

We work on some of these projects with help from other production companies; In others, we work directly. In any case, we intend to work increasingly with local staff and resources. In fact, in hidden strokes We have the goal of working with a very high percentage of local personnel and we will have full filming on the islands.

Do Buendía Estudios aspire to continue expanding the number of annual productions or are they comfortable with this already large activity?

We always aim to grow. Furthermore, our idea is to launch ourselves into international market. It's something complex, but we've been working on it for a while. We are open to any opportunity that may come to us.

“The consolidation of the Canarian industrial fabric will give us competitive advantages”

To your television fiction production, you have recently added feature films such as Alibis or entertainment products such as This is not a dating for Prime Video. Is there a strategy to expand the typology of formats that you have worked on until now?

Not especially. We have huge projects that are executed from the headquarters in unscripted. The thing is that, here in the Canary Islands, until now what we had done was fiction and cinema. We haven't fully entered into entertainment, but we are working to be able to enter. It would be a very important step for us.

The industry continues to evolve. The platforms seem to have left aside the fictional originals and are looking for different models and products. What type of content are Buendía Estudios Canarias clients currently requesting?

The market demands content of all kinds. I don't think we have any special requests, just original projects, that reach the viewer and help them grow. Our goal is to bring together a team that allows us to produce content, whether unscripted, cinema or fiction, and thus make our way to any of our clients. What they are looking for is talent, and that is what we try put them on the table when we go to show them our projects or to any market.

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The Canarian singularity

The Canary Islands have become, together with the Basque Country, the main audiovisual lung of Spain, both for its tax benefits and for its opportunities as a filming location. What does the territory currently contribute to the production market?

Right now, the Canary Islands play in the first division at European level regarding incentives; increases the nationals by 20 points. has a flexibility which other territories lack and a very competitive fiscal framework designed to attract audiovisual investment. In addition, the islands' infrastructure is growing at a good pace with modern sets, post-production services and qualified personnel; both those trained here and those who have returned to live on the islands.

Furthermore, the Canary Islands have a very active institutional support. They not only promote the locations, but also look for business in different markets and festivals. Above all, relevant projects, through entities such as PROEXCA or Canary Islands Film. All this has meant that the Canary Islands have gained a lot of confidence in recent years as hub of filming.

Nor can we omit the great variety of locations that we have, that allow us to recreate different environments and periods. On the other hand, the spectacular weather that we have makes it possible to film practically 365 days a year, which means that the risks when planning a filming plan are lower.

“There are companies or producers that associate with partners canaries to be able to meet those requirements that lead to the deduction. But that is not the objective of Buendía Estudios Canarias”

In what way can the Canarian audiovisual industry continue to evolve in the future? In what areas is there room for improvement?

Los tax benefits that the Canary Islands offer must continue to be maintained. That security is important: there is a lot of competition between territories and it is important to send a message of continuity.

The rest of the improvements will depend on the training of professionals and the development of service companies. In each production we do we have more people at our disposal and with more experience, which allows us to improve at all levels. Consolidating this point is essential to face the production volume that we have right now, which is already quite high.

More and more nationally focused companies, such as Buendía Estudios, are exploring the creation of Canarian or Basque arms to benefit from the tax benefits of both territories. Do you think there is a possibility that these types of initiatives will be limited in the medium term to continue promoting local initiatives?

Buendía Estudios Canarias, as a subsidiary of Buendía Estudios, of course, depends on the matrix decisions, as happens with any group of companies. There are companies or producers that associate with partners canaries to be able to meet those requirements that lead to the deduction. But that is not the objective of Buendía Estudios Canarias. We have an interest that goes beyond: that of consolidate a factory with local talent and with industrial capacities that serve both own projects and co-productions and even services.

We are integrated into the fabric, because we believe that it can give us a competitive advantage that also helps us develop and strengthen our relationship with the Canary Islands. This can benefit us all; The consolidation of this industrial fabric will give that competitive advantage which is sought from Buendía Estudios Canarias.

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Between international opening and local consolidation

He has already told us that Buendía Estudios Canarias wants to target the international market. What steps are being taken in this regard?

At Buendía Estudios, we have the invaluable help of our equipos comerciales de la matriz. En ese terreno se ha producido una investigation de las necesidades que tiene actualmente el mercado internacional y las plataformas. Ese es el punto de partida desde el que estamos desarrollando este trabajo y, partiendo de él, conseguiremos el objetivo de salir al mercado internacional.

¿La llegada al mercado internacional pasa por la coproducción o Buendía Estudios Canarias aspira a dar forma a una producción de ambición global creada con talento local?

Podemos optar por ese último modelo, pero estamos abiertos, por supuesto, a coproducir si nos llega la oportunidad.

“Para nosotros es importante tener en cuenta la competencia fiscal que hay con otros territorios nacionales e internacionales. Es un área importante, pero al final la diferenciación la tenemos que buscar por capacidad, talento y agilidad”

Más allá de esta expansión internacional, ¿qué desafíos tiene a corto y medio plazo Buendía Estudios para consolidar ese crecimiento sostenido al que apuntan?

Para nosotros es importante tener en cuenta la competencia fiscal que hay con otros territorios nacionales e internacionales. Es un área importante, pero al final la diferenciación la tenemos que buscar por capacidad, talento y agilidad. Esos son los puntos en los que queremos hacer énfasis.

Aquí en Canarias hay picos de producción en los que se hace complicado encontrar determinados servicios. Por ello, lo que pretende la filial en Canarias es apoyar esa creación de talento. En ese sentido, estamos incorporando estudiantes a nuestras producciones a través de acuerdos con los diferentes centros y, además, vamos a participar en un importante proyecto de mentorización dirigido a los alumnos de los centros de formación secundaria de las islas. Y, a nivel de contenidos, el objetivo pasa por seguir produciendo originales en el territorio.

Aside from the will of Buendía Estudios Canarias, do you believe that the industry as a whole, including administrations, training centers and industrial fabric, is moving in the right direction to consolidate the present and future of the Canary Islands as hub of audiovisual production?

Of course, the objective we have medium-long The term is to grow, and we understand that both the government and any institution on the islands are supporting the sector. You have to work, but we are on the way.

An interview by Sergio Julián Gómez