The Spanish audiovisual model continues to gain strength in Europe, promoted by the Spain Audiovisual Hub Plan that the Government of Spain launched four years ago, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. This is reflected in the European Commission’s ‘European Media Industry Outlook’ report, which highlights the global success of Spanish content, the triumph of series, international expansion and the leadership of productions.
Among other milestones, the document highlights that 9 of the 10 most watched European series worldwide are Spanish; or that ‘The Snow Society’ was the most watched film on streaming platforms worldwide in 2024. It also highlights that Spanish content shines in Europe: while non-national series fall from 11% to 6%, Spanish productions increased their viewing quota by 3 points to 9%; and, together with Ireland, they are the only ones that exceed their presence in European catalogues.
The success of the Spanish audiovisual model in the European context was addressed in the exchange prior to the premiere of the film ‘Always is winter’ by David Trueba, a Spanish-language co-production resulting from the adaptation of the novel ‘Blitz’ by the Spanish director, which took place yesterday afternoon at Cinema Galeries in Brussels, with the presence of the leading actress, the French Isabelle Renauld.
The event was organized by the Ministry of Culture, through the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA), in collaboration with the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function and Atresmedia Cine. It was attended by the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, María González Veracruz; the Under-Secretary for Culture, Carmen Páez; the General Director of the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts, Ignasi Camós; and Jaime Ortiz Artiñano, General Director of Atresmedia Cine.
In her speech, María González Veracruz, Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, said that “the Spain Audiovisual Hub Plan is the result of a government that believes in the audiovisual sector as a sector of progress, as a key piece for a more prosperous, egalitarian and sustainable country.” She highlighted the impact of the Plan on employment in the sector, which has grown by 107% since the first quarter of 2020 and in its contribution to reducing the gender gap, with a 46.5% share of women in the direction or script in 2024, and an increase of 69.37% in the production of feature films.
For her part, Carmen Páez, Undersecretary of Culture, explained that “we believe that the Spanish model we have built over the last few years is a success story. It combines professionals of great talent and creativity, with quality productions and a strong commitment of the Government with culture. All this has resulted in a state-of-the-art audiovisual and film industry. The Spanish audiovisual and film sector is characterised by its diversity, inclusion and innovation”.
Ignasi Camós, Director General of ICAA, said that “today, more than ever, it is time to continue supporting Spanish cinema. Because it is not just about culture or art, but about identity, memory and the future that we all want to build together. It enjoys a prestige and international recognition that has been won by hand and that puts it in an excellent position thanks to the creators, producers and the strength of an increasingly solid audiovisual industry.” He added that “today we have an excellent example of the film being shown: ‘It’s always winter’, made by one of our best directors, David Trueba, and in co-production with Belgium.”
In the words of Jaime Ortiz de Artiñano, CEO of Atresmedia Cine, ‘It’s always winter’ “represents the essence of what we are: a company that believes in the power of stories and in the strength of collaboration. We are committed to an audiovisual that generates economic, cultural and social value for Spain and for Europe”. The project, in his opinion, consolidates Atresmedia Cine’s strategy of co-producing with independent national and international partners (such as Ikuru Films, Blitz La Pelicula AIE, La Terraza Films and Wrong Men), promoting co-productions that strengthen the industry and promote the circulation of European content. Therefore, this film “is an example of the moment of maturity and international projection, fruit of the joint effort of the government of Spain (with the ICAA, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Digital Transformation) and the regional administrations, creators, producers and platforms that share the same vision: to make our stories transcend borders”.
Launch of the second phase of Spain Audiovisual Hub
After four years acting as a lever for the sector, the Spain Audiovisual Hub Plan, managed by the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence of the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function, has begun a second phase that mobilizes funds worth 1,712 million euros in financial instruments, through the Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT), dedicated to financing and investment in advanced and transformative technologies linked to digital transformation.
The objective is to support the consolidation of the sector, providing it with greater resilience and operating capacity in the global market. The first two investments have already been approved: on the one hand, 44 million euros in the Spanish fund Culture CAP7 to finance audiovisual productions; and, on the other hand, 4.9 million euros in Moby Dick, which focuses on capturing projects from the Anglo-Saxon world to convert them into Spanish co-productions that attract great international filming.
Since its launch in 2021, the Spain Audiovisual Hub Plan has mobilized, in its first phase, 1.6 billion euros that have benefited the various agents of a sector that covers not only cinema, but also digital technologies, video games or experimental development and innovation projects.
The plan is also designed to boost territorial cohesion in Spain. To this end, the Government has promoted, with an investment of 24.8 million euros, a national network of local infrastructures for the audiovisual field promoted by local governments of five strategic points of the country: Madrid, Barcelona, A Coruña, Gran Canaria and Murcia. It has also strengthened Spain’s presence in international festivals and markets such as the Berlinale or Cannes, together with ICEX, which has doubled the number of annual promotional activities for the promotion of audiovisual productions abroad.
ICAA’s internationalization strategy
The Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts of the Ministry of Culture has developed, for its part, a broad strategy for the promotion and promotion of Spanish cinema abroad, included in its Internationalization Plan 2024-2026 for the promotion of the Spanish audiovisual and the promotion of the external projection of our cinematography.
There are several lines of support for exports: support for distribution and participation in audiovisual markets and festivals, both at European level and on other continents. In addition, the ICAA provides direct support to filmmakers, producers and distributors on their international tour, with the aim of increasing the visibility of productions and opening avenues of collaboration with other countries.
In addition, all the grants for the production of feature films and short films, both general and selective, which are called up annually by the ICAA include specific support for co-productions with countries of the European Union.
