Sebastián Álvarez is the production manager of the filming of an internal video for "Peugeot" that took place in the Volcán del Cuervo area last Sunday. The grand scale of the filming caused political controversy between government and opposition officials of the Cabildo regarding the current protocol for issuing permits to film on the Island.
First, the head of production wants to clarify who they are: "Volcano production" is an advertising film production company with a track record of 12 years of activity, based in Tenerife. They are founding partners of the "Tenerife Film Commission" and the Association of Canary Producers, which has led to a new audiovisual policy throughout the Canary Islands through the Presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands, and with resources that are channeled through Culture on the network.
Sebastián Álvarez explains the pre-production procedures for the filming: "we began to manage the corresponding permit application 45 days in advance for 5 days of photos and 5 days of filming." He adds that they had the coast demarcation permit, the one from the City Council - whose fees are the highest of all the Canary Islands - Álvarez clarifies; they also had the permit from the Traffic Police Headquarters, the one from the Cabildo roads and the one from the Environment. "We have acted with all the permits that they themselves have requested from us," he concludes.
Environmental impact
Despite the grand scale of a filming, Sebastián Álvarez assures that "any form of industry other than ours - which comes here, manufactures the product and leaves - implies waste, energy consumption, environmental impact, or visual impact." In his opinion, even tourism creates much more impact than them: "unlike 8 buses with 100 tourists each that arrive at a site, ours (the filming) is very regulated, because when we film, then the Environment technicians go and if there is any problem we assume the responsibilities; in the case of buses, no one can assume a responsibility as defined as ours"
Discomfort
Finally, Sebastián Álvarez expresses his discomfort at the unleashed controversy that "indirectly bounces to the production company, which has been serious, has acted as it should, and has been caught in a crossfire, paying the righteous for sinners." In this sense, he explains that this controversy may affect them for future filming, but it may also harm the Canary Islands: "we are talking about a production of 200,000 euros, half of which stays in Lanzarote; all the peripheral services offered by the Island are contracted, such as transport, hotels, local staff, cranes... all are services that we consume and a wealth remains here" he clarifies. In this sense, he explains that the Canary Islands are competing with other destinations to film, and for this reason the Administration should help them and not use them as a political element, or make things difficult for them.
