Malaga takes a starring role

MALAGA featured in 151 film productions last year, a 17 per cent increase on 2011 which brought in €1.5 million to the city.

Film-making coordinated by the council-run Malaga Film Office had provided employment and promoted the city internationally, while benefiting tourism and commerce at the same time, said councillor for Culture Damian Canedo.

The Malaga Film Office handled 358 projects last year and despite the economic crisis, 151 resulted in films. He was most satisfied with the Office, Canedo admitted.

It had functioned “very well and very diligently” dealing with the necessary paperwork and working at a good pace. “When everyone else stumbles, we go up,” Canedo observed.

Growth was important, he stressed, attributing the good results to the city’s professionals as well as its perfect scenery. Malaga’s ambition was to become a reference point for the film, television and advertising industries, continued Canedo.

The council now planned to allocate Culture department space to a private company that would put filmmakers in touch with audiovisual professionals and providers of specialist services.

Two films which used Malaga city as a backdrop last year were “Luna llena” and “Mi gitana” – specially-made for Spanish television – together with shorts, series and documentaries.

Nor was filming limited to Spanish companies, as the city was visited by television and film crews from all over the world.

As well as featuring in advertisements for Spanish firms Unicaja and Cruzcampo, Malaga can also be seen in publicity for Davidoff, Bentley, Ford, Honda and KIA as well as C&A.

Photo credit: mer de glace