Locations for Hire in Spain & Film Location Library

Spain is one of the few European countries that combines highly professional crew and equipment with minimal bureaucracy. If you have last-minute changes, which are standard with most productions, the rules can be bent to accommodate clients.

Spain is one of the world’s top filming locations, with a track record that goes back to the glamour days of cinema in 1960s and 1970s. Directors like Sergio Leone, with his Spaghetti Westerns, helped Spain establish its reputation - and it has never looked back (though competition for work has intensified with the emergence of popular Eastern European locations). Iconic titles to have been shot there include Spartacus, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and a slate of James Bond films.

Spain’s strengths include the diversity of its locations, the quality of its crews, its climate, transport links, the studio/equipment infrastructure and the fact that it is safe. It is also pretty cost-efficient. This is partly because of the economic downturn and partly because it is easy for the French and UK agencies and producers to get to (cheaper than flying specialists to locations like South America or Eastern Europe). In fact, Spain’s costs are now so competitive that Brazilian and Argentine producers have even been tempted to fly in.

The Balearic Islands (Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza) want to do something similar as a way of staying competitive with neighboring territories. Currently, the islands are doing pretty well having hosted The Inbetweeners film and the Wachowski brothers’ Cloud Atlas (which filmed there last September).

The diversity of locations in Spain ranges from the Mediterranean coast to snow-covered mountains, along with islands, beaches, volcanoes, forests, rivers, deserts and cultural sites. Landscapes of historical interest with signs of Greek, Roman, Moorish, Medieval or Modernist cultures, among others, can be found. Towns range from old rural or fishing villages to modern international cities. Spain also offers mild weather and bright light all the year round. In addition to coastlines, peaks and rolling countryside, Spain offers stunning architecture (from the Alhambra to the Guggenheim), desert scenes and a range of farming landscapes.

Opel was in Spain during 2011, doing a shoot for its electric car the Ampera. The ad is a great endorsement of Spain’s location capabilities; it features a diver swimming off the Spanish coast, a mountaineer climbing snowy Spanish peaks and an ultra-marathoner running through spectacular scenery.