LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! Movie film production almost doubles in Spain

SPAIN was fourth in Europe in film production growth and one of only two EU countries where the industry’s output has risen on average, according to a report.

The level of film production has grown by 89 per cent in the country, which came fourth behind Britain, France and Germany between 2007 and 2016.

The European Audiovisual Observatory report included data from 36 countries. Spain and Denmark were the only two EU countries where levels of film production rose and the highest growth was in countries outside the bloc, according to data.

Average growth in Europe was 47 per cent and the number of films produced there stood at 2,124 at the end of 2016, up from 1,444 in 2007. More than 18,000 films were made during the whole of that period.

Documentary films almost doubled, with 698 produced in the EU. Fiction grew by 33 per cent from 2007 to 2016.

The report took the 2007-8 average and compared it to that of 2015-6 to avoid strong variations in output in some countries affecting the data.

Spain came first in growth between 2015-6 at 11.3 per cent. The country was followed by France at 10.8 per cent, Britain at 10.2 per cent, Italy at 9.4 per cent and Germany at 9 per cent.

Spain also came second in co-productions which grew by 12 per cent, coming behind France at 15 per cent.

The study did not take into account the budget of films which has fallen by half in Spain over the last five years, according to data from producers.