Some historians believe the Canary Islands were the mythological Garden of the Hesperides. Known by others as the islands of eternal spring, this archipelago of seven larger islands and numerous smaller ones offers productions a wide range of locations embracing tropical, volcanic desert and even lunar at Mount Teide.
The appeal of such natural wonders to film and TV productions is underpinned by one of Europe’s most generous financial incentives. The Canary Islands — which includes Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura, among others — operates under a special taxation regime (REF), and offers a 50% tax rebate (reaching 54% under certain conditions) on the first $1.1m (€1m) of expenditure, and 45% after, with a $39.5m (€36m) ceiling in the case of features and $19.8m (€18m) for each series episode. In 2022, there were 164 productions on the islands, up from 155 in 2021.
Gran Canaria hosted season four of Prime Video’s thriller Jack Ryan, starring John Krasinski, doubling for Thailand and Myanmar, before moving to Tenerife to recreate Mexico and Thailand. In Netflix’s The Mother, starring Jennifer Lopez, Tenerife stood in for Cuba, while Apple TV+ series Foundation shot Lanzarote and Tenerife as a distant planet.
Disney+’s first Nordic Original Series, the thriller Ammo, filmed in various areas of Fuerteventura, doubling the island for Mali.
“Shooting on the Canary Islands proved to be a great experience,” says producer Ole Marius Araldsen of Anagram Norway, who worked with Tenerife’s Volcano Films. “[It offers] professional crew and great locations, with a tax rebate that really helped with financing the series. I would definitely do it again.”
Indeed, there is a high rate of return business to the Canaries: Apple is back with season two of Foundation; as is HBO Max with The Head, produced by Spain’s The Mediapro Studio, which is set on Antarctica and Point Nemo in the Pacific, the furthest oceanic place from the mainland on Earth.
The biggest production facility on the islands, the Gran Canaria Studios audiovisual complex in capital Las Palmas on Gran Canaria, covers a total area of approximately 6,000 square metres and includes two soundstages of 1,200 square metres and 1,800 square metres, each 12 metres high.
First person to contact: Natacha Mora, coordinator, Canary Islands Film
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