"Canary Islands, the new Eldorado of cinema". That's how "El País" titles an extensive report published in its edition last Friday, the 20th, in which it highlights how the Canary Islands has consolidated itself as a film set and as a stage for the production of series or commercials thanks to the tax exemptions that producers benefit from in the Islands, which reach 38%, through the Canary Islands Economic Regime (REF)
Ridley Scott saved 15.8 million euros after opting for Fuerteventura for the filming of "Exodus" and, in addition, allowed great Hollywood figures, such as Christian Bale, Sigourney Weaver or John Turturro to enjoy the beauty of the landscapes of the island of Majorera. Scott's film, a three-time Oscar nominee, will contribute to the promotion of the Island in half the planet once the film is released in December 2014. Regardless of its success at the box office, what is already a triumph is that seven million euros remained in Fuerteventura in rental cars, meals, extras, set construction, lighting and production.
Since the Canary Islands has incentives that exceed by 20 points those applied in the Peninsula, many national and international production companies have filmed in the Islands, including some American blockbusters, such as the aforementioned Scott film; "The Dictator", starring Sacha Baron Cohen; "In the Heart of the Sea", by Ron Howard; "Wrath of the Titans" and "Fast & Furious 6", among others.
This same week, actors such as Hugo Silva or Blanca Suárez are also in Fuerteventura filming the series "Los nuestros". The images of the Island disseminated by the actors through their accounts on social networks, in which they have a legion of followers, have an impact whose cost would be very difficult to evaluate in economic terms. This is the case of Demi Moore, who has also been this week in Gran Canaria for the filming of "Wild Oats" together with two other legendary actresses: Shirley MacLaine and Jessica Lange. In the case of these three actresses, the impact is universal.
Penélope Cruz will disembark in Gran Canaria next July to participate in the filming of "Ma ma", a film by Julio Medem, which also includes Luis Tosar and Asier Etxeandia in its cast. In Tenerife, meanwhile, two international productions will be filmed in July: "Nobody Wants the Night", by Isabel Coixet, starring Juliette Binoche, and "Happy 140", the new project by Gracia Querejeta in which Maribel Verdú will participate.
The list of cinematographic projects that will disembark in the Canary Islands in the coming months is very extensive and certifies the growing prominence of the Islands in the world atlas of the most coveted natural settings for filming movies, series or commercials". And there is a long list of excuses to continue working to ensure that this industry continues to grow in the Canary Islands, thus contributing to the creation of employment and investment in the Islands of amounts that, in some cases, are millionaire figures.
Carlos Rosado, president of the Spain Film Commission, assures that "for every euro spent in the form of tax incentive, a direct benefit of between 4 and 6 euros is obtained" and complains that, despite the positive impact it has on the economy, "money is being lost by the bucketload".
The preliminary draft of the tax reform approved by the Council of Ministers this Friday, whose fine print we will not know until Monday, includes new tax incentives for filming in Spain and, if the sector's forecasts are met, in the Canary Islands it will go from 38% to 45% and with it, according to the newspaper El País, "it will continue to be the most fiscally appealing European territory to film".
Cinema generates wealth and represents a unique opportunity to open new avenues for job creation in an economy that needs to continue moving towards diversification and rely on initiatives that also contribute to promoting our natural landscapes through culture.
We have, for this, the bonuses contained in our REF and other incentives through the Reserve for Investments in the Canary Islands or the low taxation for the establishment of companies in the audiovisual sector in the Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC). In addition to these tax aids, the European Commission has validated the latest changes introduced by the State Government in the Film Law, which eliminates the temporary limitation of the Deduction for Investments (DIC), which has begun to move large productions that were paralyzed.
Film decisions for the Canary Islands that we must take advantage of now that the wind is beginning to blow in the direction that the producers were demanding. Demi Moore will soon be joined by Penélope Cruz, Juliette Binoche, Maribel Verdú and a large cast of artists whose glamour and international projection will contribute to the Canary Islands taking a leap in its external promotion through the seventh art.
Ana Oramas, deputy of Coalición Canaria?
