Lights, camera and action! Marbella stars on the big and small screen

In an increasingly competitive sector film production companies are always on the lookout for new ideas and locations and one of those locations is Marbella. With its own film office that can offer crews everything they need along with more than a decade of experience, Marbella Film Office has managed more than 1,000 productions since its creation in 2009 and in the last two years the number of international films and television series shot in the town has increased.

The office forms part of the Andalucía Film Commission and European Film Commissions Network and its main objective is to provide a free information service, help with permits, finding filming locations and offering advice, which helps with the language barrier for film crews working in Spain.

Production companies from all over the world come to Marbella and especially Europe, including Germany, England, Sweden, Ireland, France and Holland, which tend to focus on television programmes.

In recent years, American and Japanese companies have also chosen Marbella for their projects, not forgetting films and series from platforms such as Netflix and HBO. "One measure that has been very well received by the audiovisual sector is the abolition of the tax for filming in Marbella, which has been an important stimulus to attract new productions to the town,” office sources explain.

Marbella is used as a location for everything from films, advertisements, music videos, photo shoots, series to television programmes and in 2022, Marbella Film Office helped with more than 40 projects including the Netflix series Black Mirror, Paramount's Bosé and Amazon Prime's Los Farad.

So far this year the office says it has already collaborated with more than 30 productions. Platforms such as Netflix return to the town to film programmes like Machos Alfa, the BBC has filmed there and a number of brands have chosen Marbella for advertisements.

Within the wide range of locations that Marbella offers, the promenade and the old town are the among the favourites, according to the Marbella Film Office. "They are looking for light, and for that the beach is ideal and the streets of the old town are always in demand for their charm," they explain.

The town’s parks are also very popular, especially for photo shoots. "We get a lot of requests for the Parque de la Constitución and the Alameda because of its green areas", they highlight.

Although most productions come with ideas for specific locations, in some cases the Film Office is asked to help. "We usually advise them if they are looking for something specific, such as a certain type of beach or building.” One of the key aims of the office is to position Marbella as an important destinations for all kinds of audiovisual projects, "with an exceptional promotion of the town in the markets where these projects are broadcast".

The fact that Marbella is a "filming destination" provides a positive benefit for the hotel sector and the town’s services, as well as free publicity for the town, according to the office. "The image of Marbella is not only sold as a filming location, but it is also shown through the contents and themes of these programmes and documentaries, especially on television, which provides a very important international showcase,” they conclude.