Just an hour’s flight from the major filmmaking hubs of Madrid and Barcelona, the locations to be found on Spain’s Balearic islands have become strategically important as the country works hard to accommodate the demand from international productions.
Paramount+ thriller series Lioness, starring Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldana, shot for seven weeks on the island of Mallorca at the beginning of the year, as well as in the US and France. It had a crew of about 450 people, split about equally between international, local and mainland Spain staffers.
Mallorca is the largest of the four islands, rounded out by Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera. It has recently hosted filming for the sixth season of Netflix’s The Crown and Clerkenwell Films’ UK series The Mallorca Files.
The UK edition of Love Island is hosted on Mallorca while commercials for Apple, Samsung, Seat and Mercedes have also shot — or are about to shoot — on all four of the Balearics. Local Spanish productions have included horror thriller Faro, produced by Mr Miyagi Films and Moonlight Cinema in Menorca.
Productions come for the sunny days and dramatic landscapes, including sandy beaches, rocky cliffs, the natural reserve islet of Es Vedra just off of Ibiza, as well as Las Salinas national park. There are also the limestone quarries near Ciutadella in Menorca as well as the island’s quiet coves and beaches.
There are historical locations such as Ibiza’s Dalt Vila, and the Mallorca towns of Valldemossa and Soller, and the medieval fortress of Bellver.
The Balearics have a combined population of 1.2 million and a long history as cultural and tourism hubs. They are easily accessible from most of the big European cities, Spanish mainland airports and ferry lines, and there are plentiful options for accommodation and catering. Distances are short within the islands, enabling crews to move quickly from one location to the next.
Local crews speak English and there are specialists for underwater filming. Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca each have their own film commission, while renowned service producer Mike Day of Palma Pictures is based on Mallorca, working on the island and throughout Spain.
Mallorca has both MN Studios and Palma Pictures, which offer soundstages of around 1,000 square metres each, and plans are underway for a new facility, the Mallorca Green Film Studios in Marratxi, near island capital Palma, with a 1,500 square metre stage that can be flooded. The project has the support of the local authorities and benefits from EU Next Generation funds, and it is due be open by the end of 2024.
First people to contact:
Ibiza Film Commission, Noemi Castro
Mallorca Film Commission, Pedro Barbadillo
Menorca Film Commission, Miguel Huesa
No comments yet