Move will support creation of local divisions of Mexican and UK production companies in Spain
Spain’s state-owned investment company SETT (Spanish Society for Technological Transformation) is to invest almost €40m (£35m) to support the launch of two production companies in the country.
Ítaca Films Madrid has received €20m to create a Spanish arm of Mexico’s Grupo Ítaca that will produce 26 film and TV productions worth a combined €419m over the next 10 years in the capital.
The investment forms part of an initial €45m public-private financing operation involving Grupo Ítaca and international investment vehicle Omegas Capital, which is bringing international equity from several countries into Spain’s audiovisual sector.
The aim is to generate close to 900 direct and indirect jobs annually across shoots, technical services, hospitality, transport, logistics and other suppliers.
Additionally, SETT is investing €19.8m in Good Films Studios Spain, a public-private €45m collaboration with Miriam Segal’s UK production outfit Good Films, which has backing from Orogen, a Canadian-US investment outfit specialising in film.
It will be based at Alicante’s Ciudad de la Luz complex and will develop, finance, produce and sell mid-sized international productions budgeted at between €17m and €25m.
Good Films Studios Spain hopes to generate €215m in direct investment in Spain during its first five years, alongside an estimated €390m in indirect and wider economic impact. It aims to shoot 20 films at Ciudad de la Luz over the next decade, beginning with Michael Haussman’s €18m People Of The Book.
SETT manages public investment in strategic technology and digital industries, including the country’s audiovisual sector.
Both investments fall under the second phase of the Spain Audiovisual Hub, part of the country’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and backed by the European Union’s Next Generation funds.
The €39.8m injection comes just weeks after the Spanish government confirmed it was investing almost €100m (£86m) into an investment company aimed at boosting the country’s audiovisual sector.
Aurora Media Inversiones will invest in businesses to expand productions and filming in Spain, with the financing also part of Spain’s Audiovisual Hub Plan. The venture is being led by Secuoya Content Group.
The initiatives are led by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration through the State Secretariat for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence (SEDIA).
A version of this story first appeared on Broadcast International sister title Screen
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