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SHOOTING LOCATIONS MARKETPLACE 2024

The fourth Shooting Locations Marketplace doubles the participation of international filming destinations

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- This year, the boutique event for audiovisual filming-location professionals and production companies unspools on 15 and 16 October in Valladolid, following the success of its previous three editions

The fourth Shooting Locations Marketplace doubles the participation of international filming destinations
Last year's edition of the Shooting Locations Marketplace (© Feria de Valladolid)

The Shooting Locations Marketplace will hold its fourth edition on 15 and 16 October in Valladolid. The event, organised by Feria de Valladolid and the Spain Film Commission, will bring together representatives of filming destinations, location scouts and producers. The growth observed in 2023 is set to solidify this year, as the Shooting Locations Marketplace will welcome professionals from more than 20 countries. This year’s event sees a two-fold increase in the participation of international filming destinations, with over 50 such destinations (64 in total, including film commissions and private companies) taking part in the event, 19 of which are international – up from nine international ones last year. A total of 68 location scouts, producers and creative directors from 13 countries will attend, alongside service production companies from different parts of the world, including Spain, Estonia, Portugal and Jordan.

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The industry event presents a work programme designed to facilitate meetings among participants, including filming destinations, production companies, location scouts and producers. There is a schedule of interviews (expected to exceed 1,000 at this edition) based on their shared interests, as well as dedicated networking spaces for spontaneous meetings. The programme will open with an address, “Filming in Challenging Times”, by Mark Costa (HBO MAX) and Elona Tsou (Warner Bros Discovery). It will also feature a series of round-tables where participating professionals will jointly tackle issues facing the sector. This edition’s three round-tables will probe various facets of filming destinations, including factors influencing their selection, and the identification of key interlocutors for film commissions seeking to attract film shoots to their territories. The round-tables will be moderated by John Rakich (Location Managers Guild International), Venia Vergou (EUFCN) and Juan Manuel Guimeráns (Spain Film Commission). Among the guest speakers are Gianluca Novel (Friuli Venezia Giulia Film Commission), Caroline Greville-Morris (British Production Designer Guild), Stefanie Rauscher (Vienna Film Commission), Tammy Glover (Sony Pictures TV Studios) and Ana Marques (Portugal Film Commission). Over the course of the event, discussions will also cover broader themes, such as industry developments, tax incentives and sustainability, among others.

Reflecting on this year’s increase in the number of participating filming destinations, service companies and international film commissions, the managing director of Feria de Valladolid, Alberto Alonso, noted that this growth would “translate into a greater number of interviews”, adding that “this means that location scouts and producers are going to find a wider, more diverse offer... In short, it’s more attractive because the range of work options is widening.” He then proceeded to discuss this year’s programme novelties, highlighting “the expansion of professional profiles”. Initially attended exclusively by location scouts, the programme has since incorporated production companies. “This year, a new profile has been added, that of creative directors, an equally relevant figure when it comes to providing context and historical rigour,” he remarked.

Citing “the level and volume of international attendees, and the support of the vast majority of the film commissions”, general secretary of the Spain Film Commission Juan Manuel Guimeráns hailed the event as “the most important [...] of its kind in Europe”. Inmaculada Martínez, the director general of Cultural Policies for the Junta de Castilla y León, echoed this sentiment, expressing support for specialised events like the Shooting Locations Marketplace, which, she said, “with only three editions held, is consolidating itself as one of the most important professional meetings of the audiovisual sector at an international level”.

The Shooting Locations Marketplace takes place amid the global quest for production locations, with Spain firmly positioning itself as a competitive territory for international shoots. A significant number of international productions head to Spain annually, driven in part by the country’s favourable tax incentives, such as the 30% tax rebate. Olsberg•SPI’s (SPI’s) recent study “Economic Impact of Spain’s Rebates for Investments in International Film and Television Series” (read it here), commissioned by the Spain Film Commission in collaboration with PROFILM, highlights the economic effect of foreign shoots in Spain, which extends far beyond the audiovisual industry. According to the study, the 165 productions that were analysed spent a minimum of €1,320 million in the Spanish economy over the period 2019-2022, which “in turn generated an estimated minimum of €1,795.6 million in gross value added contributions to the national economy”.

More details about the planned activities can be found here.

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