17/10/2023 - This year's event is committed to the quality and diversity of the participants, as already witnessed in the results of the previous two years

Shooting Locations Marketplace, the event dedicated to film locations to be held from 17 to 18 October in Valladolid, increases the national and international participation of destinations, producers, location managers and companies related to audiovisual production. Professionals from 36 national and 9 international destinations (France and Brittany, Germany, Berlin-Brandenburg and Bavaria, Poland, Norway, Jordan and Egypt) will participate. More private companies will also be in attendance, both those in filming and those providing services for productions: companies from Namibia, Peru, Estonia, Jordan and Spain.

The event, organised by the Feria de Valladolid and Spain Film Commission, is aimed at promoting meetings between those involved in shoots. Different work sessions are organised including meetings scheduled according to the common interests of destinations and location managers, round tables and conferences on issues such as sustainability in filming, tax incentives and the impact of the recent US screenwriters' strike.

The programme will begin with a conversation between Emmy Award-winning American screenwriter Jay Gibson and veteran location scout Lori Balton. "Different Eyes and Realities" is the title of the panel's discussion, which will be moderated by Jaclyn Philpott, Executive President of the Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI). The Spain Film Commission will then present a study on the use of artificial intelligence for selecting locations, led by AI expert Alba Meijide.

The managing director of Feria de Valladolid, Alberto Alonso, highlighted the increasing growth of Shooting Locations Marketplace "reflected in figures, which represent the addition of new destinations and companies. The larger programme is also accompanied by an increase in the number of location managers attending Shooting Locations Marketplace, 69 professionals from seven countries. This year we have continued working along the lines of last year's edition, incorporating executive profiles, with greater decision-making capacity in choosing destinations". Alonso also stressed that 65% of the location managers and producers are American and British, the two most powerful markets in the Western audiovisual industry.

The General Secretary of the Spain Film Commission, Juan Manuel Guimeráns, referred to "Spain's competitiveness in attracting international film shoots, the development of the national audiovisual industry and the important role of Shooting Locations Marketplace in making connections with professionals from other countries". Guimeráns framed this event within the Spain, Audiovisual Hub of Europe Plan, an initiative promoted by the Secretary of State for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructures (read news article assessing its operation to date at the recent San Sebastian Festival).

Last year, Spain hosted the filming of 49 international productions, according to data from Profilm, the association of international audiovisual production companies. The direct investment is 288 million euros, most of which corresponds to hiring technical equipment and specialists. The Canary Islands, Catalonia and Navarre were the main shooting locations for these international productions.

(Translated from Spanish by Vicky York)