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María Cabello, Silvia Aráez and Cristina Armario, in front of the Farola, a symbol of their audiovisual production company Ánima Stillking. Salvador Salas
The Malaga production company bringing Walking Dead zombies to Spain with a 50-million-euro turnover
Filming

The Malaga production company bringing Walking Dead zombies to Spain with a 50-million-euro turnover

Ánima Stillking, founded six months ago by Silvia Aráez, María Cabello and Cristina Armario, has quickly become a preferred partner in Spain for Netflix, Amazon and AMC

Francisco Griñán

Friday, 18 October 2024, 12:31

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The founders of Ánima Stillking only began forming their production company last March, starting without an office or a name but fuelled by their passion and creativity.

Six months later, they have not only established their own label and secured headqarters in Malaga, but they have also created an impressive portfolio with the projects they have been involved with in the film and series industry.

In this short time, they have completed eight international productions and expect to finish the year managing filming projects with a total budget of 50 million euros.

"And yet we said we were going to take it easy," jokes executive producer María Cabello, sharing a smile with Silvia Aráez, CEO of the company, and Cristina Armario, financial director.

This trio, who formerly held the same roles at Fresco Film, a prominent local production company recognised for its high-profile projects, chose to take the "leap", as they described it, last February. The impressive results confirm their success in this new venture which is largely driven by their standout projects, including the most significant production of the year in Spain: the third season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, the second instalment of which has just premiered on on AMC+.

The three founders discuss their journey under the iconic La Farola, the Malaga lighthouse, where renowned photographer Salvador Salas captures them crossing the street like the Beatles. The dynamic trio have chosen the lighthouse as the corporate symbol of Ánima Stillking, a company dedicated to illuminating the path for major studios that come to Spain to film.

"Before establishing the company's strategy, the first point of our partners' agreement was that we wanted to operate from Malaga," the three executives explain. They have made it a priority to use their local roots as a key advantage.

"Foreign production companies are not bothered that we are not in Madrid, because they don't care where your headquarters are if you are involved in projects all over the whole country. There is a also a recent trend which shows a new interest in filming in Malaga, proved by Amazon's recent series," says Silvia Aráez referring to the ongoing filming in Marbella, Ronda and Malaga for the international mini-series The Girlfriend, directed, produced and starring Hollywood star Robin Wrght (House of Cards and Forest Gump).

"The setting of the filming is significant but it also means a lot that the plot itself is set in the province," says Cabello. Netflix also approached the production company in September to film a new movie in Vélez by the latest king of romantic comedy, Danish director Mehdi Avaz.

"Foreign production companies are not bothered that we are not in Madrid, because we cover the whole country from Malaga"

"With this shoot, María Cabello has achieved the milestone of completing the first film with a 99% Malaga-based crew and that's the concept we are promoting and aiming to implement. Large productions require a lot of personnel, but we have a robust local infrastructure and highly experienced professionals," says a pleased Aráez, who adds that this trend also has a business reason: "Clients such as Netflix, HBO and Amazon are increasingly requesting more local crews because it reduces their expenses on accommodation and daily allowances."

Fresco Film separation

The CEO of Ánima Stillking broadens the perspective from local to global as she offers a more comprehensive view.

"Hollywood producers are increasingly looking to shoot outside Los Angeles and the USA because costs have skyrocketed there and financial incentives have disappeared. This means more opportunities are coming to Europe, and Spain needs to be part of that," explains Silvia Aráez, who has been overseeing production in Spain for the third season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, which has suffered a three-week hiatus due to the injury of one of its lead actors. "Thank goodness we have insurance," she acknowledges with relief.

The founders of Ánima Stillking left the production company Fresco Films after learning of its purchase by Mediapro. "It felt like heartbreak," they say

The filming of this series, which attracts thousands of fans, is reminiscent of Game of Thrones, a series that Aráez and her team also worked on during their time at Fresco Films, the leading Malaga production company of the last decade.

The three executives began to consider their next steps when they learned of Fresco's sale to the Catalan company Mediapro, a deal that was finalised last Summer. They have felt the impact of this change first hand. "The impact of this change was deep for us. It felt like heartbreak," Silvia explains.

The split from the previous company came quickly with the emergence of Twenty Four Seven, a leading production company in Spain’s advertising sector, directed by Ivo Van Vollenhoven and originally based in Fuengirola. They partnered with the international film and series production company Stillking Films to establish a new Malaga-based venture called Ánima Stillking.

"Some employees joined us, while others chose to stay with Fresco. I believe this transition has been beneficial for everyone involved; Fresco has been sold and its value has increased, while we have embarked on an exciting new project," Silvia adds, not disclosing details of the separation.

50

million has been spent in Spain by the eight international productions whose filming has been managed by the Malaga-based production company Anima Stillking. The largest part, around 35 million, is the investment for the third season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.

In their case, the move has yielded numbers they didn't expect after just a few months in operation. Taking the floor is the financial director, Cristina Armario, who outlines the figures for the young company: they have filmed eight productions, five of which have exceeded the minimum budget of one million euros required to qualify for tax rebates from the government.

As a result, they anticipate closing the year with a turnover of around 50 million euros, with 35 million of that attributed to the blockbuster The Walking Dead. "In fact, there are more accountants than producers among the 16 staff members at Ánima Stillking," reveals the CFO, explaining that the company's primary focus is not only overseeing shoots in Spain but also managing the recovery of 25% of the production costs.

Andalucía, in fourth place

Silvia Aráez also weighs in on the topic, referencing a recent report published by Profilm, the Spanish association of production service companies. The report highlights that every euro returned in tax incentives for international filming generates a return of nine euros in the Spanish economy. Without these tax benefits, 70% of this foreign investment -totaling 1.32 billion euros over four years - would not have materialised in Spain.

"The best part is that Andalucía is currently fourth in the rankings and climbing, thanks to productions like Warrior Nun and Kaos," says an optimistic Cristina Armario. She then hands the floor to Cabello, who brings attention to a growing debate in regions such as Euskadi, Valencia and Galicia regarding regional incentives.

"For every euro that the state returns to foreign producers through tax incentives, the Spanish economy gains nine"

"Unlike the Basque Country, we don't have our own tax authority, but through the Andalusian Audiovisual Cluster (LAND) we are in discussions with the regional government to explore what support can be arranged, particularly regarding accommodation for the crew, so we remain competitive compared to other regions," says the executive producer, adding that this increased investment will also benefit the training of more professionals in Andalucía.

This isn’t the only challenge. Internally, Ánima Stillking is also exploring new avenues, aiming to complement their established service business by developing their own series and films.

"We want to become content creators and launch our own productions," announces Cabello. "But that will have to wait until next year, as there’s not much left to achieve this year." Cut!

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