The promotional actions carried out last year by Malaga Film Office, belonging to the city council's cultural department, have proven to be especially effective.
Of the 393 queries received by Malaga Film Office in 2008 (up 30.5% on figures for the previous year), 162 productions were filmed, including feature films, documentaries, spots, etc. – see breakdown by production type – involving the processing of 334 permits in co-ordination with different departments of the city council.
In 2008, filming in the city generated direct revenues totalling EUR 3,474,812, up 48% on figures for 2007. This figure represents the budget of each production earmarked for spending on hotel accommodation, restaurants, transport, and local staff and audiovisual rental, according to data supplied directly by production companies. Since being created in 2001 by Malaga City Council, the film office has generated revenues totalling EUR 34,437,534 for the city.
Productions filmed in the city during 2008 include the feature films Los Minutos del Silencio, directed by Rafatal, and staring Ingrid Rubio and Fele Martínez, Una Sombra en el Paraíso, directed by Alberto Jimenez, and premiered at the 12th edition of the Malaga Film Festival, Men who hate women, a film based on Stieg Larsson’s novel Millenium, and, the film that generated the highest revenues for the city, Prime Time, directed by Luis Calvo, and staring Leticia Dolera, Ana Alvarez, Alberto Amarilla and the local actor Alberto Puyol.
With regard to advertising, the second revenue generator, spots featured Samsonite, Sony Cameras, C&A, Barclaycard, and Lexus, among other top brands.
The Andalusian TV series Arrayán stands out for the frequency with which sequences were shot on location in Malaga, other TV programmes filmed in the city including Mucho Viaje (Spain), Spain Otona Tabi (Japan), Conde Nast Traveller (United Kingdom), and Dreamhouse Under the Sun (Belgium).
Spanish documentaries such as Litoral, la luz de la Orilla and El Sexo en Mujeres Discapacitadas were filmed on location in Malaga, as were the international documentaries El Misterio Melchor, Gaspar y Baltasar (France), The Road of Civilization (China), and Made in Spain (USA).
As well as providing consultancy services, attracting business, and handling film permits, Malaga Film office also conducts far-reaching ad campaigns, with the support of Malaga Chamber of Commerce, with the aim of showcasing the city as a film location, as well as efficiently managing resources so as to cut red tape for production companies and arousing their interest.
