Gran Canaria’s merits as a film location are in evidence once more with the news that the island has already hosted 16 different productions in the first five months of the year.
The information was released by Gran Canaria’s Economic Promotion Office, which is delighted at the ever-increasing take-up of the island as a setting for Spanish and foreign films and TV series.
In addition to the 16 productions already filmed or under way, a further seven have signed up to use the island’s towns and scenery for filming in the coming months.
The contacts and subsequent arrangements for location filming are the job of an affiliate of the External Promotion Board, the Gran Canaria Film Commission, which offers support and assistance in the form of advice on filming locations and permits, meetings with local producers and other sector professionals, and contacts with the authorities in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands and – where appropriate – at national level.
In addition to several Spanish films and series, foreign productions already completed include the Danish feature film ‘Hashtag’, by Nordisk Films, the French thriller ‘Mi amor’, directed by Guillaume Nicloux, and the second season of German series ‘Oderbruch’, produced by Syrreal Entertainment.
As of last week, Spanish viewers can follow another major production filmed in Gran Canarian (and La Gomera): Weiss & Morales, a co-production between RTVE and Germany’s ZDF, follows the fortunes of a female German BKA agent and a male Spanish Civil Guard sergeant, who reluctantly team up to investigate a crime in the Canary Islands’ German community.
Another production, ‘Mi Ilustrísimo Amigo’, which narrates the love story between two key figures of Spanish literature – Emilia Pardo Bazán and Las Palmas-born Benito Pérez Galdós. The film was mostly shot in Gran Canaria last year and won the award for Best Cinematography at the last Montreal Women Film Festival.
Photo of filming of Weiss & Morales: RTVE
