SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 22nd March (EUROPA PRESS) –
The recent General Assembly of the Canary Islands Audiovisual Cluster, convened within the ‘MiradasDoc’ event in Tenerife, recognised the significant progress of the visual media sector. It underlined the tangible opportunities it offers for economic diversification and the creation of skilled jobs.
Despite this positive outlook, the attending production companies expressed deep apprehension “regarding the industry’s development, which continuously faces uncertainties and risks capable of severely disrupting the ecosystem.”
The audiovisual sector was deemed strategic by the Canary Islands Parliament 15 years ago, a status that Cluster President Rubén Zarauza praised, emphasising the “evident momentum and growth it has experienced.”
Nonetheless, concerns were raised about the future positioning of the islands’ visual media sector if strategic thinking and bureaucratic improvements are not implemented to stabilise the projection of audiovisual work.
The assembly unanimously shared worries over the slow processing of Coastal, Environmental, or Minor permits, challenges with mobility, fines imposed on the sector, lack of human resources within administrations, and the disparity in permit management among different islands.
Producers stressed that the sector still possesses growth potential but “faces obstacles from a public administration that has not allocated sufficient resources to various departments, resulting in delays in issuing necessary filming permits in a timely manner.”
Consequently, a lack of understanding of diverse audiovisual activities and their unique requirements was exposed, emphasising the urgent need to initiate awareness campaigns about audiovisual practices with various public administrations, as stated in a report from the Cluster.
Dayda Brito, producer at La Crème Films, highlighted the distinctions between a commercial shoot and film production.
OPERATIONAL ISSUES WITH PERMITS
“In the advertising sector, we are losing job opportunities due to administrative time constraints that fail to consider the industry’s specific needs. Project-specific permits are not effective. The approval process can take up to 4 months whereas the work schedules are much tighter. We require the establishment of an annual permit system, not only for Coastal areas but also for Environmental permits. Additionally, the Canary Islands have one of the longest processing times for filming permits involving minors, approximately 10 business days, compared to 5 days in other regions. We are losing competitiveness,” remarked Brito.
Antonio Acosta, Director General of Coasts and Management of the Canary Islands Maritime Space in the Canary Islands Government, was a guest at the Canary Islands Audiovisual Cluster meeting.
Industry representatives at the assembly stressed the necessity of establishing a continuous framework for collaboration between the public and private sectors. Acosta mentioned that “annual coastal permits are now available for submission in the Las Palmas province.”
He also acknowledged the sector’s feedback and assured that the Coastal Directorate will work towards streamlining the process for small-scale recordings with minimal environmental impact.
“We need to progress by ensuring each administration takes the necessary steps in a coordinated manner. This effort is not solely the responsibility of one department but also involves Environmental services of various councils and municipalities where the activities will take place,” he explained.
Another pressing concern for the sector is the limitation on tax incentives for audiovisual productions, which has raised “uncertainty” among regional, national, and international industries.
Currently, the total incentive for all projects developed in the Canary Islands must not exceed 55 million Euros annually.
Cluster Manager Genoveva Ayala mentioned that by the end of the previous year, “some partner production companies received notices from the Treasury stating the inability to reserve credit as the 55 million limit had been reached. However, there is a possibility for other projects to be considered upon the closure of the 2023 fiscal year in July.”
“POTENTIAL CATASTROPHIC” IMPACT
Furthermore, the proposed amendments to the Royal Decree, which modifies the Regulation for the implementation of Law 19/1994, dated 6th July, amending the Economic and Fiscal Regime of the Canary Islands concerning tax incentives in indirect taxation, has not yet been approved. The intention is to shift the aid from State to Regional operations.
This “reignites a debate on audiovisual production on the islands, with implications that could be catastrophic for the sector if the original text is not revised to eliminate the spending requirement in the Canary Islands,” it stated.
Carmen Aguado, Cluster Secretary with around 90 affiliated entities, stated that “this issue extends beyond the Canary Islands and is a nationwide concern.”
“Various regional and national associations have reached out to us seeking information about the current situation in the Canary Islands. Word has spread, rekindling uncertainty. Several productions have relocated from the islands. This is undoubtedly detrimental to the sector and could have a significant impact,” she noted.
Christian de la Rosa, Director General of Cultural Innovation and Creative Industries in the Canary Islands Government, also invited by the Cluster, supported the sector’s call for the removal of the limit. He indicated that “this widespread concern has been included in the ‘Canarian Agenda’ that President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, will discuss with the Central Government.”
While the assembly viewed this as “encouraging news,” the sector remains “anxious” due to the absence of specific measures and timelines that would clarify the landscape of audiovisual production on the islands.
