Ciudad de la Luz

Imagen Aerea Ciudad de la Luz

Since it opened its doors in August 2005, the Ciudad de la Luz studios have been occupied and in continuous use right up to the present day. As a result, the audiovisual industrial complex promoted by the Generalitat in Alicante has hosted the filming of a total of twenty-six productions over this three-year period.

To date, the modern facilities at Ciudad de la Luz have hosted all types of filming, from small format productions to the largest budgets in European cinema, films released both nationally and internationally and even animation films, such as ‘Linko’, the first production made in Spain using advanced, three-dimensional technology.

The total cost of the twenty-six productions filmed at Ciudad de la Luz to date amounts to 249 million euro, which brings with it a direct investment of around 85 million euro into the region. These productions have lead to some 114,130 overnight stays in hotels across the region over the last three years.
 
Other significant figures relate to the number of extras sessions contracted - 39,203 in total -, as well as the 1,543 people contracted by the production companies in Alicante.

Contracts with businesses from the region and knock-on effect

These figures confirm that Ciudad de la Luz industrial audiovisual complex has had an important revitalizing effect on the region's economy, particularly as far as equipment from numerous service and logistics supplier companies is concerned, with an additional 1,262 contracts signed with Valencia- and Alicante-based businesses.

This was precisely one of the primary objectives of the complex's initial creation, that is, to forge new channels for audiovisual activity in the Valencian Region. Furthermore, the structuring of initiatives of various types through this production center contributes towards multiplying the number of direct and indirect jobs opportunities.

International showcase

During their three years of operation, since August 2005, the Ciudad de la Luz facilities have been occupied at full capacity, primarily with the European super-productions ‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’, ‘His Majesty Minor’, ‘Manolete’ ‘My Life in Ruins’ and ‘Triage’. Through these films, the Generalitat's great project has reached a high level of internationalization in record time.

‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’, the third installment of the popular comic character's escapades had a budget of more than 78 million euro, making it the most expensive production in the history of European film. Its cast includes such names as Gerard Depardieu and Alain Delon, Santiago Segura and Vanesa Hessler, as well as featuring big stars from the world of sports, such as Zidane, Tony Parker and Schumacher.

‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’ is co-produced by Pathè Renn Productions and Le Petite Reine, Tripictures, Constantin Films, Novo RPI and the Valencia-based Sorolla Films. As well as making use of the sets, workshops, warehouses and production buildings, the producers of this film were able to take advantage of the backlot or outdoor filming sets, constructing a scale Roman Olympic stadium.

‘His Majesty Minor’ is another of the large European projects that opted for the Alicante-based complex. The new film from the French filmmaker Jean Jacques Annaud, with a budget of 30 million euro, stars José García, Vicent Cassel and Sergio Peris-Mencheta, among others.

‘Manolete’, the latest film by director Menno Meyjes, known for his scripts for films directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, such as ‘The Color Purple’ and ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’, boasts the participation of internationally recognized actors Adrien Brody, Penélope Cruz, Santiago Segura and Juan Echanove. During the shooting of this film, which focusses on the life of the legendary Spanish bullfighter, several exterior locations within the region were also used, such as the bullring in Alicante, the Old Town of Alcoy and the Agost area.  

‘My Life in Ruins’, the new film by director Donald Petrie, author of the comedy ‘How to lose a guy in ten days’, has a cast that includes such renowned actors as Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss and Alexis Georgoulis. The Spanish actresses María Botto and María Adánez are two of the homegrown names featuring in this romantic comedy with a Greek flavor. The project is co-produced by several international production houses, including Kanzaman, a company with its headquarters in Valencia that has produced such films as ‘Goya's Ghosts’ and ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, and Playtone, the production company established by Tom Hanks and Gary Goeztman and which has made such films as ‘The Polar Express’, ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ and ‘Castaway'.

‘Triage’ is the first international co-production to come and film at Ciudad de la Luz in 2008. It is directed by the acclaimed Bosnian director, Danis Tanovic, and boasts a first rate cast featuring such celluloid stars as Chistopher Lee and Colin Farrell, who will also be accompanied by the Spanish actress Paz Vega. It is a European co-production with the participation of Ireland (Parallel Films Ltd), France (ASAP Films) and Spain (Tornasol, Castafiore Films and Freeform Spain)

Aim: To boost national cinema

Ciudad de la Luz studios have been steadfast supporters of Spanish cinema. Since the inauguration of the studios, filming has been carried out on many films of a marked national character, such as:  

‘La Dama Boba’. This was the first film to be shot here. It was directed by the Alicante-born filmmaker Manuel Iborra and stars José Coronado and Silvia Abascal, among others. The plot is based on a Spanish Golden Age classic by Lope de Vega. The film is the result of the collaboration of three production companies, two from Madrid and the third based in Valencia: PC Flamenco Films, Deaplaneta and Belén Gómez PC, respectively.

It was also the first of the productions made at Ciudad de la Luz to reach the big screen and won several awards following its showing at the International Festival of Spanish Film in Malaga: Best Actress went to Silvia Abascal, Best Supporting Actor to Roberto Sanmartín and Best Costume to Lorenzo Caprile. Additionally, Silvia Abascal was nominated in the category for 'Best Actress' at the Goya Awards in 2007. Caprile's costumes were one of the attractions of the film, along with the footwear by the Alicante-born Pura López.

‘Lo que sé de Lola’ was directed by Javier Rebollo and stars Lola Dueñas, Michael Abiteboul and Carmen Machi. A co-production by Spanish production companies Malvarrosa Media (Valencia), Lolita Films and the French Lazennec & Asocies, it has competed in the most prestigious festivals, such as those of San Sebastian and London. Its national preview took place in Alicante and Javier Rebollo was nominated for the Goya for ‘Best New Director’. He received the Award for ‘Best First Work’ at the 22nd International Film Festival in Guadalajara.

‘Teresa, el cuerpo de Cristo’ recreates the life of Saint Teresa of Avila. The films boasts the participation of director, filmmaker, scriptwriter and writer Ray Loriga. The actresses Paz Vega and Leonor Watling stand out for their roles as Teresa and Guiomar, respectively. The Valencian production company, Trivisión, and the Spanish, Iberoamericana Films, participated in this film, in collaboration with Future Films (UK) and Artedis (Francia). Its national premiere took place in Alicante with Paz Vega and the Madrid-born filmmaker in attendance.

The industrial complex Ciudad de la Luz has also hosted the production ‘Summer Rain’, directed by Antonio Banderas, with actors such as Fran Perea, Juan Diego and Victoria Abril. ‘Summer Rain’ was nominated for Goya awards in the categories of ‘Best Revelation Actor’ for Alberto Amarilla and ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’.

The Valencian production, ‘Escuchando a Gabriel’, directed by José Enrique March and starring Silvia Abascal and Antonio Dechent, was also worked on at Ciudad de la Luz, more precisely on the sets of its Study Center. Furthermore, for the first time and within its commitment to the training-industry formula, five of its first students completed their first internships there. The film received the award for Best Feature Film in the 10th edition of the Valencian Audiovisual Tirant Awards, and its director, José Enrique March, was recently presented with the award for Best Director at the Skip City International D-Cinema Festival in Japan.

‘Quiéreme’ is a Hispanic-Argentinean co-production starring Ariadna Gil, Dario Grandinetti, Carlos Hipólito and Juan Echanove. Its director and scriptwriter is the Argentinean Beda Docampo Feijó, who also wrote the script for ‘Camila’, a film nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. She is considered by the Konex Foundation to be one of the top five scriptwriters of the decade 1985-1985. Her script for ‘The Last Train’ won the Academy Goya for the Best Foreign Film and the award for Best Script at the Montreal Festival in 2002.

The film, co-produced by Nada Music, Iroko Films, Quiéreme Producciones, Infinity Films, Abaco Movies, Kompel Producciones SA (Argentina) and Exponencial ADASA (Argentina) will be distributed by A.Zeta Cinema. The executive production is in the hands of Harold Sánchez, Álvaro Zapata and Pablo Kompel.

‘Atasco en la nacional’, by Josetxo San Mateo, relates the vicissitudes of the Montoro family as their holiday unfolds at Cullera beach. Son Manuel (Pablo Carbonell), the father; Soledad (Anabel Alonso), the mother; Sergio (Luiber Santiago) and Estíbaliz (Ana Polvorosa), sixteen year old twins that don't look a bit alike, and Lex, who's five.

The film is co-produced by Nada Music, Era Visual and Duraton Films. The executive production is the work of Álvaro Zapata, José G. Jacoste and the Valencian Ximo Pérez. It was a box office hit in 2007.

During filming of ‘Lolita’s Club’, the industrial audiovisual complex, Ciudad de la Luz, was able to boast the presence of Vicente Aranda, following in the wake of other important figures in national cinema such as Carlos Saura, as well as other up-and-coming stars such as Javier Rebollo, Manuel Iborra and Ray Loriga. A tough police drama starring Eduardo Noriega who, in a complex theatrical setup, plays the part of two twin brothers. The other star of the film is Colombian actress Flora Martínez, known for her lead role in the controversial film ‘Rosario Tijeras’. .

The production ‘Tuya’ meant the return to the Ciudad de la Luz film studios, following ‘Quiéreme’, of the Hispanic-Argentinean director, Beda Docampo Feijó. It is a love story, extreme and out of the ordinary, starring Irene Visedo, Eduard Fernández, Carlos Hipólito, Marta Belaustegui and Marisa Paredes. ‘Tuya’ is co-produced by Iroko Films, Azeta Producciones, Quiéreme Producciones and Ángel Durández.

Agreement with Tornasol

With the objective of continuing to promote Spanish film, the prestigious production house, Tornasol, and Ciudad de la Luz signed a collaboration agreement whereby the production company pledged to carry out its audiovisual projects at the Alicante-based industrial audiovisual complex for a period of four years, as well as making use of off-set locations and natural settings of the region. 

Until now, Gerardo Herrero's production company, Tornasol, has filmed three productions in Alicante with a marked national flavor.

The first production to be released following this agreement was the ensemble comedy ‘Siete Minutos’. Directed by Daniela Fejerman, responsible for such titles as ‘My Mother Likes Women’ and ‘Semen una historia de amor’, it relates the story and obstacles faced by people in the world of today who are alone and want to remain that way. Luis Callejo, Pilar Castro, Toni Acosta, Marta Etura and Antonio Garrido are some of the stars of this fun film.

‘Mentiras y Gordas’ is the new comedy co-directed by Alfonso Albacete and David Menkes that relates the lives of a group of young people who take refuge in nighttime thrills in order to forget the troubles of the day. This film has an ensemble cast featuring such popular faces from the small screen as Hugo Silva (‘Los hombres de Paco’ and ‘The Sandman’),  Mario Casas (‘Los hombres de Paco’), Ana de Armas and Yon González (‘El internado’), Ana Mª Polvorosa (‘Aída’), Maxi Iglesias ('Física o Química'), Marieta Orozco (‘Barrio’), Alejo Sauras (‘Los Serrano’ and ‘Café solo o con ellas’)  and Asier Etxeandia (‘13 Roses’).  

 ‘Castillos de cartón’ is the new film by García Ruiz, responsible for ‘Mensaka’, ‘The Other Side’ or ‘Voices in the Night’, starring Adriana Ugarte (‘Dogs Head’), Nilo Mur (‘Melissa P’), Biel Durán (‘Salvador’) and the Mexican Cristian Magaloni (‘Ramirez’). In the film, based on the novel of the same name by Almudena Grandes, the participation of Alicante and Valencia goes further still: The film is notable for the presence of a large number of local actors, such as Adán Rodríguez, Patricia Teruel, Lola Marcelli, Alvaro Aguilar, Toni Miso, Patricia Plaza, Fernando Ripoll, Diego Braguinsky, Javier Aguayo and Sergio Valiente.

Independent Film

‘The Garden of Eden’ is based on the posthumous novel by Ernest Hemingway of the same name and, directed by John Irvin, relates the adventures and vicissitudes of the young American writer David Bourne –Jack Huston- and his beautiful wife Catherine –Mena Suvari- during their honeymoon around Europe in the thirties. These actors share the stage with Spanish veteran actress, Carmen Maura –‘Volver’, ‘Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown’, ‘Ay Carmela’- and Caterina Murino –‘Casino Royale’.

The industrial audiovisual complex, Ciudad de la Luz, also hosted production of ‘Possibility of an Island’, a film that marked the behind-the-camera debut of the  successful French novelist, Michel Houellebecq, author of ‘Platform’ and ‘The Elementary Particles’  among others.  The film is a co-production by Morena Films (Spain), Mandarin Cinema  (France), in association with the Valencian DePalacio Films. It is to be internationally distributed by Dream Machine (ex-Celluloid Dreams).

‘Arritmia’, directed by the Valencian Vicente Peñarrocha, boasts a cast led by Natalia Verbeke, Derek Jacobi and Rupert Evans. The film is co-produced by the Valencian Sorolla Films, Monfort Producciones and Michiyo Yoshizaki. This production was the first to use the outdoor filming areas of Ciudad de la Luz, reconstructing a scale model of Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
‘Io, Don Giovanni’ is an international co-production directed by Carlos Saura and photography director Vittorio Storaro. Saura was presented the Life Achievement Award by the European Film Academy. He has also won the Golden Bear (Berlin), the Golden Palm (Cannes), the Golden Shell and several Goyas, among much other recognitions.  His peers have also bestowed honors on him with the Spanish Academy of Art and Cinematographic Science's Golden Medallion.  As for Storaro, he has won three Oscars for his work in ‘Apocalypse Now’, ‘Reds’ and ‘The Last Emperor’.

‘Io, Don Giovanni’ follows in the wake of other large-scale international co-productions carried out at Ciudad de la Luz over the past three years, such as ‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’ and ‘His Majesty Minor’. The countries participating on this film include Spain, Italy, Austria and Germany, through the  production companies Rocabruno S.A. (Spain), Edelweiss Production S.R.L. (Italy), Wega Film (Austria) and Content & More GmbH & Co.KG (Germany). 

This time, Saura directs the fascinating journey into the world of the ‘Don Giovanni’ opera from the perspective of its creators: the brilliant Mozart and his librettist, and the libertine Lorenzo Da Ponte, Casanova's disciple. Love affairs and court intrigues weave an ingenious storyline in which fact and fiction become one, giving rise to one of the opera's masterpieces.

‘La mala’, starring Lena Burke, Jorge Perugorria, Vladimir Cruz, María Isabel Díaz and Sully Díaz is a Hispanic-Puerto Rican co-production by Malvarrosa Media, Pedro Pérez Rosado, Lazennec,  Untitled Films Inc., which has the support of TVE, RTW, ICAA, IVAC, Ibermedia, Puerto Rican Film Corporation as well as the backing of Ciudad de la Luz.
 
Television Productions

‘L’Alqueria Blanca’ is the first television series to be filmed at Ciudad de la Luz, destined for broadcast on Canal 9 and produced by the Valencia-based Trivision. A seventies Alicante town was recreated onset and the story centers on the vicissitudes of a humble family that finds itself on the wrong side of the local despot. Directed by Santiago Pumarola and Alberto Fernández, it stars Remedios Cervantes, Juan Gea and Guillermo Montesinos. In its second season on air, L´Alqueria Blanca obtained record ratings: it averaged over 400,000 million spectators each episode. Filming of the third season is currently underway.

The Alicante-based filmsets also hosted ‘Martes de Carnaval’, a project driven by Juan Luis Galiardo, Juan Diego, José Luis García Sánchez, the late Rafael Azcona and producer Juan Gona, and is born of the desire to put images to the best of Spanish literature, in this way using the key means of communication of our time, film, to bring it to a larger audience and choosing the television as its display screen in order to better reach the entire population.
 
In this way, under the generic title ‘Martes de Carnaval’, three films of an hour and a half each, filmed in cinema format with the best media and an enviable line up, unite the three theatre pieces - ‘Las Galas del Difunto’, ‘Los Cuernos de Don Friolera’ and ‘La Hija del Capitán’ - with which Valle-Inclán gave rise to a new and distinct genre: the "Esperpento".

Animation Film

In a bid to benefit from the advantages brought to the audiovisual world by new technological techniques, Ciudad de la Luz steps into the future with the filming of ‘Linko’, the first feature film with real actors and three-dimensional technology to be filmed in Spain. The work is directed by David Valero, from Alicante, and stars Manel Barceló, Críspulo Cabezas, Daniel Carrillo and Yolanda Ulloa. The production companies participating in filming, which will take place from July 14 to August 8 on the film sets of the Study Center, are the Alicante-based Jaibo Films (‘ Grandmother's House’ by Adán Aliaga), IB Cinema (‘Estigmas’) and the Catalonian Nadir Films. 
 
National and International Star System

Coppola joins the national and international film industry who have worked in Ciudad de la Luz. During its three years of activity, Ciudad de la Luz has seen some of the biggest stars of the national and international film industry pass through its sets, dressing rooms and make-up departments, such as Adrien Brody, Geraldin Chaplin, Edward James Olmos, Colin Farell, Christopher Lee, Roy Scheider, Ruppert Evans, Derek Jacobi, Vicent Cassel, Gerard Depardieu, Alain Delon, Benoît Magimel, Patrick Bauchau Stéphane Rousseau, Vanesa Hessler, Jorge Perugorría, Mena Suvari, Jack Houston, Donald Petrie, Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Eduardo Noriega, Carmen Maura, Juan Luis Galiardo, Eduard Fernández, Juan Antonio Bayona, María Botto, María Adánez, Juan Diego, Pilar Bardem, Antonio Dechent, Adriana Ozores, María Pujalte, Paz Vega, Leonor Watling, José Coronado, Silvia Abascal, Verónica Forqué, Pablo Carbonell, Anabel Alonso, Ariadna Gil, Darío Grandinetti, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Santiago Segura, Juan Echanove, Antonio Resines, Victoria Abril, Eusebio Poncela, Luis Perezagua, Antonio Gamero, Mari Carmen Ramírez, Paco Maestre, Rafael Gil, Paco Tous, Jesús Franco, Julio Diamante, Lara Grube, Carolina Lapausa, Alvaro de Luna, Lola Dueñas, Carmen Machi, Natalia Verbeke, Fran Perea, Paco León, Marta Etura, Pilar Castro, Luis Callejo and Irene Visedo, Hugo Silva, Ana de Armas, Mario Casas, Alejo Sauras, Biel Durán, Nilo Mur, Adriana Ugarte, Lola Marceli,  Yon González or Marieta Orozco to name just a few. 

Off-set locations within the region of Valencia

It should be noted that, throughout the thirty-six months of operation, the various productions created at Ciudad de la Luz have also made use of many other areas within the region.

For ‘La Dama Boba’ for example, scenes were filmed at locations in Alicante, such as at Santa Bárbara Castle and former Tobacco Merchants House, as well as Santo Domingo de Orihuela College. ‘Lo que sé de Lola’ made use of locations in Alicante. ‘Guantanamero’ was filmed in Elx, Alcoy and Benidorm; ‘Manolete’ in the bullring in Alicante as well as the Old Town of Alcoy.

‘Asterix at the Olympic Games’ used off-set locations in Alicante –Castle and Port-, Petrer, Santa Pola and Terra Mítica (Benidorm). ‘His Majesty Minor’, new film from French filmmaker Jean Jacques Annaud, used locations in Beniarres, Benigembla, Benitachell and Villajoyosa, and the team for ‘Atasco en la nacional’ set up in other locations within the region, such as Valencia, Cullera, Massanassa, Cheste, Alfafar, Chiva, Pinedo and Puebla de Farnals.

‘La mala’ used exteriors such as ‘Cala de los Borratxos’, in Alicante, as an off-set location, ‘Lolita’s Club’ was filmed in Alfaz del Pí, Benidorm, Alicante and El Pinet de Elche, and ‘L’Alqueria Blanca’ at the Santa Eulalia colony village in Sax. Villena, Alcalali, Beneixama, El Campello, Benassau.

  ‘Possibility of an Island’ used facilities at Hotel Bali (Benidorm) and ‘The Garden of Eden’ set up in Valencia –Notaries Society-, Alicante –Town Hall Square and Santísima Faz Square-, Villajoyosa –Racó del Conill beach-, Alcoy –San Joseph, Santa Rita, Racó de Bonaventura-, Novelda –Modernist House Museum- and Altea.

‘My Life in Ruins’ used places in Alicante, Alfaz del Pi, Guardamar, Altea, Javea, Guadalest and Benidorm.

The international production, ‘Triage’, was also filmed in Sant Vicent del Raspeig, Elx and Xixona. Lastly, the Spanish film, ‘Mentiras y gordas’, carried out a large part of its off-set filming in the city of Alicante.