Audiovisual Sector

The Canary Islands are Islands “of the cinema”. The variety and versatility of the landscapes lead to the Islands receiving a multitude of audiovisual productions each year. In the Islands, over 200 audiovisual productions are carried out each year (full-length films, television programmes, videos, adverts, photographic work, etc.) both foreign and local.

The Islands offer the best world tax advantages to the audiovisual companies. There are two incentives adress to the sector and both allow investors to enjoy significant tax benefits: one is the Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC) and the second, the Canary Islands Investment Reserve (RIC).

The compatibility of combining both incentives is an added incentive for the consolidation of a business sector that helps to diversify the Islands' economy. The Canarian audiovisual industry has outstanding Canary blockbusters thanks to the existence of highly professional and established companies which are able to provide all kind of support services or to undertake major projects.

Some examples of films shot in the Canary Islands are “One million years B.C.”, by Don Cheffey with Raquel Welch (1966), “Los abrazos rotos”, by Pedro Almodóvar with Penelope Cruz (2008), or more recently “Clash of the Titans”, by Louis Leterrier with Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neeson.

Regarding local talent, the Islands can boast not only that they are the place of birth of actors of the calibre of Javier Bardem, but also of graphic animators such as Carlos Baena, who breathed life into the characters of “Ratatouille” and “Wall-E”, recent successes from Pixar, or of directors such as Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, director of “Intacto” and “28 weeks later” or Mateo Gil (co-scriptwriter with Alejandro Amenábar) who is now directing “Blanthorn” with Sam Shepard and Eduardo Noriega.