In the last panel of the event, Extraordinary Spanish Incentives Are Luring Hollywood & Latam, industry experts discussed how to take advantage of these new opportunities offered by Spain and shared their experiences producing content in the territory.
*By Luis Cabrera, from Miami
As platforms’ production budgets shrink and production costs rise globally, producers around the world are turning to Spanish Government incentives to close funding gaps. Combining national and regional benefits from one country, and then adding benefits from a second country, can result in unimaginable funding of up to 60-70%.
This was the topic of discussion at the last panel of Natpe Global 2025, Extraordinary Spanish Incentives Are Luring Hollywood & Latam, in which government officials, producers and local production service providers talked about how to take advantage of these new opportunities.
Javier Yraola, Trade Commissioner of the Economic and Commercial Office of Spain in Miami, began the discussion by talking about the achievements of the Spanish organization. “We have attracted a lot of international production thanks to a government plan that included an investment of 1.6 billion euros. And also, during this five-year period, the number of professionals in the industry has doubled.”
The executive highlighted the Canary Islands region as a location, although he clarified that the climate and infrastructure of Spain is excellent in all regions, and highlighted production studios with spectacular levels, such as the one recently opened in Alicante.
“We analyzed why other European countries had this type of incentive and what we saw is that the profit they obtained from attracting these productions was much higher than the loss of the tax. The whole number must be analyzed and the result is positive,” explained Yraola.
“The first thing to consider is where the filming will take place, because how and when the incentive is accessed depends on that,” said Patricia Motilla, Partner at Andersen Global, a law firm that assists in resolving tax refund requests when producing content in Spain.
In this regard, Carlos Garde Macías, General Manager of Onza Entertainment, highlighted the incentive in Bilbao. “We are a production company that also offers services for Latam and the US. Last year we worked with Televisa for Papá Soltero. The key thing about the incentive in Spain, in Bilbao in the case of Papá Soltero, is that it allows you to close the budget gap that you need to make the project a reality. The tax incentive in Bilbao also respects that you have to film some exteriors elsewhere, as we did in Mexico.”
“Our first experience was in 2019, with Patricia, when we recorded Sueño bendito in Barcelona,” said Francisco Cordero, CEO of BTF Media. “Since then we have produced two series, six films and three documentaries in Spain. In some cases with Mexican talent and for the Mexican public. Of course, being Latinos, the language helps a lot.”
“In the last production that we filmed in the Canary Islands, and partly in Madrid, we achieved a 50% reduction,” he added.
“We filmed in Barcelona, with a lot of Mexican talent that we brought to Spain,” said Fernando Vila, Head of Studio at Exile Content Studio. “The experience was fantastic. We recovered 25% of the production money, but we also enjoyed the experience. We made two series in Spain and we are exploring the possibility of opening a production company in Spain.”
To close the panel, all the panelists agreed on how essential incentives are to make large productions in the current scenario of the international industry.
“Outside the US, and even within it, it is impossible to work without considering ‘soft money’,” said Vila. “You have to get creative on the financing side to make things happen,” added Codredo. “In itself, today it is very difficult to think of a project without considering incentives,” concluded Garde.
THE ROAD TO THE INCENTIVE
After the panel ended, ttvnews spoke with Patricia Motilla, from Andersen Global, about the process of requesting incentives when looking to make a production in Spain.
“The first thing is the nuances of regulatory rights. Because Spain is within the umbrella of Europe,” began the lawyer. “The first thing to determine is how the producer wants to come. Do they want the IP to be from another country and come to hire a service? Do they do a co-production? Or does the film have the possibility of becoming a European production because it meets the requirements? From there, the project begins to be built from a financial point of view and to be able to obtain the maximum possible tax benefit.”
And when should these incentives be requested? “It is best that they come once they have the script and the needs of the locations,” explained Motilla. “Because we put together projects backwards. Before, the creative and production part dominated. Now they work as a team. Because no matter how creative your product is, if you don’t have the money to do it, it’s useless.”
Finally, the lawyer highlighted the growth of Latam as a partner and source of productions in Spain. “Latam has grown a lot. First because of the language, then because Spain rolls out the red carpet for Latam. Intercultural relations are getting very close. From the point of view of cost savings, the treaties between Spain and any country in Latam are the best in the world. And then we are trying to make productions that travel well in terms of content to Latam, combining the two countries. And it is being a success,” she concluded.
