The Spanish Film Industry: New Technologies,New Opportunities

Abstract

Spain, like other countries of Western Europe, has struggled against Hollywood to maintain its national film industry. Most of the films that are produced lose money, and producers are increasingly reliant on state subsidies. This article outlines the potential benefits of digital technologies to Spanish cinema and recommends changes in government film policy to take advantage of these benefits. State subsidies, in Spain as well as elsewhere in Europe, have created a weak national film market. Most Spaniards view national cinema as low-grade, and consistently opt for foreign fare. This article argues that the government should decrease production subsidies in favour of an investment in digital theatre projectors, thus permitting all productions to take advantage of the cost-saving aspects of digital filmmaking. In the course of researching this article, interviews were conducted with among others Bigas Luna (director of Jamon, Jamon, 1992 and La Teta y la Luna, 1994); Tomás Pladevall (President of the Spanish Association of Cinematographers); José-María Aragonés (Artistic Director of Filmtel, the post-production arm of Filmax production company); Ricardo Gil (Marketing and PR Director of UCl/Cinesa theatres in Spain and Portugal); and J.M. Caparrós Lera (Director of the Center for Cinematic Research in Barcelona). All were interviewed about the audience appeal, artistic merit and technical advantages or disadvantages of the digital medium.