The Government of the Canary Islands renews its commitment to the cinema made in the islands. The Minister of Universities, Science and Innovation and Culture, Migdalia Machín has signed the order approving the bases for the new subsidies designed for cinema, whose investment is close to three million euros.
The grants are aimed at the production, minority co-production and development of feature films and series of fiction, animation or documentaries; and production of short films.
The deadline for submitting proposals will begin once the bases are published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (BOC), although its content can already be consulted on the website of the Canarian Institute for Cultural Development (ICDC), collaborating entity in its management.
A third line of support specifically aimed at writing scripts for audiovisual works of Canarian authorship will be incorporated into these subsidies in the coming days.
Migdalia Machín stressed that these calls for proposals "provide production companies and professionals in the sector with the opportunity to develop projects born in the Canary Islands, with a vision that reflects our identity and creative capacity; that generate qualified employment and new avenues of collaboration in the audiovisual field." She added that "each work that arises in our islands is also an opportunity to project Canarian talent abroad."
The initiative has been promoted by the General Directorate of Cultural Innovation and Creative Industries, headed by its head, Cristóbal de la Rosa, and the investment it contemplates is destined for production (1,280,000 euros), minority co-production (1,000,000 euros) and development (340,000 euros) of feature films and television series, as well as production of short films (180,000 euros), proposed by production companies from the islands that are selected.
Applications will be submitted exclusively through the telematic management application that will be available on the electronic headquarters of the Government of the Canary Islands. The granting of subsidies is multiannual and is part of the Strategy of Cultural and Creative Audiovisual Industries that is implemented through actions of different departments of the Autonomous Government.
Bases, deadlines and criteria
According to the bases, the execution periods will continue to be four years for the production and for the minority co-production of feature films and series (until November 1, 2028). For development projects and the production of shorts, the execution period will be three years (until October 30, 2027)
Only production companies registered in the Register of Audiovisual Companies of the Canary Islands may access them. In the case of Production, the required seniority remains at one year, while for development and production of shorts no seniority is required. AIEs (Economic Interest Groups) that include a production company that has a certificate from the Register of Audiovisual Companies of the Canary Islands can also be submitted.
The projects that are chosen must accredit a sufficient presence of Canarian professionals in certain "key positions" of the production. Other relevant positions (which change depending on whether the project is fiction, animation or documentary) obtain additional points, but are not a requirement.
Likewise, the economic soundness of the project is valued, either through co-productions, pre-sales or other contributions, as well as its potential and artistic quality. This assessment will be carried out by different external committees made up of professionals of recognized prestige and representing the different film forms that are convened. Likewise, this committee will reflect in its composition the plurality of the audiovisual as an artistic and industrial phenomenon.
Audiovisual scripts
On the other hand, the bases that will govern the subsidies for scripts will be approved predictably this week, and as in the previous ones, the deadline for submitting proposals will be 20 business days, counted from the day following its publication in the BOC. In this case the investment will be 125,600 euros.