- Madrid Film Office participates in 16 national and international audiovisual festivals and markets in 2025
- The city was also the setting for 52 series, attracting a strong international presence, and over 410 advertisements
- In 2025, Madrid City Council processed 11,001 applications for filming on public streets through the Filming Authorization Bureau
- Madrid Film Office provided over 4,115 specific support services throughout 2025, representing an increase of nearly 7% compared with the previous year
- The office organised or sponsored 15 events in the city during 2025
- Collecting data on the socioeconomic impact of the audiovisual sector and promoting screen tourism remain key strategic priorities for Madrid Film Office
According to records from Madrid Film Office—Madrid City Council’s audiovisual division which is attached to the Tourism Department—the capital continued to be a prominent hub for audiovisual production in 2025. Over the past year, the municipal office estimates that the city hosted the filming of at least 71 feature films, 52 series (50 fiction and 2 docuseries) and more than 410 advertisements. The number of narrative feature films is particularly notable, exceeding the 47 films shot in 2022, previously the best figure recorded since the office was established.
In this context, Almudena Maíllo, Councillor for Tourism at Madrid City Council, highlighted the importance of the audiovisual cultural industry for the city, “because of its economic impact and its ability to generate employment”. She emphasised that “each shoot reinforces Madrid’s image as an attractive city with enormous professional and creative talent”.
Among the titles filmed in 2025 are the American production Day Drinker, directed by Marc Webb and starring Penélope Cruz and Johnny Depp; the sequel to the British thriller The Postcard Killings, directed by Renny Harlin; and the Canadian film Journey to You, directed by Terry Ingram. Also noteworthy are new projects by Pedro Almodóvar, who returns to Madrid with Bitter Christmas, and the creative duo Los Javis, who are adapting an unfinished piece by Federico García Lorca in The Black Ball.
At least eleven of the films are international co-productions. Collaborations with Latin America continue, including A Mouthful of Ash by actor and director Diego Luna and the sequel to The Night My Dad Saved Christmas by Joaquín Mazón, both co-produced with Mexico; Reversion by Jacob Santana with the Dominican Republic; and A Man on a Bridge by David Martín de los Santos with Peru. European co-productions were also significant, with notable projects from France (The Beloved by Rodrigo Sorogoyen and The Dinner by Manuel Gómez Pereira), Belgium (Always Winter by David Trueba and I Won’t Die for Love by Marta Matute) and Portugal (Another League by Marta Díaz and Head on the Wall by Manuel Manrique).
These are complemented by a wide array of Spanish titles, including 53 Sundays (Cesc Gay), Aida: The Movie (Paco León), Cruzados (Daniel Sánchez Arévalo), 2+2 (Gracia Querejeta), Torrente Presidente and Father There Is Only One 5 (Santiago Segura), The Caretaker (Álex de la Iglesia), El Potro (Daniel Calparsoro), Sisters (Ione Hernández), Hugo 24 (Luc Knowles), Looking for Michael (Juana Macías), The Stories (Miguel del Arco), The Courtesan’s Secrets (Paco Caballero, Jota Linares and Elena Trapé), You’ve Stolen My Heart (Chus Gutiérrez), My Dearest Señorita (Fernando González Molina), Todos los colores (Beatriz de Silva) and many others.
Madrid also retains its role as a major centre for the production of fiction series, with an expanding international presence, demonstrating the city’s growing interest in other markets. The capital hosted, among others, the filming of a new season of the American series The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (AMC).
Spanish series filmed in Madrid include the miniseries The Anatomy of a Moment (Movistar Plus+), based on Javier Cercas’s novel, as well as new seasons of Red Queen (Black Wolf and White King), from Prime Video), Berlin, Gangs of Galicia, Alpha Males and Death Inc. (Netflix), The Immortal, Marbella and Little Faith (Movistar Plus+) and The Protected: A New Power and Dreams of Freedom (Atresmedia).
Other recent series shot in Madrid include Aquel and Salvador (Netflix), Jakarta, The Center, Por cien millones and Killing a Bear (Movistar Plus+), Barrio Esperanza and Gluten-Free (RTVE), The Agency and Pura Sangre (Mediaset), Nails (SkyShowtime) and many others.
Madrid Film Office provided over 4,100 filming services and supported 537 projects
In 2025, Madrid City Council processed 11,001 applications for filming on public streets through the Department of the Environment and Mobility’s Filming Authorization Bureau. In total, the city hosted more than 1,025 projects filmed with permits for public space use, a figure similar to the previous year. This is in addition to smaller-scale productions filmed under the Acto comunicado system, which does not require reservation or exclusive use of public space and accounts for roughly 66% of all applications.
Many of these projects received support from Madrid Film Office in terms of location scouting, guidance and assistance with filming permits, coordination, and mediation between different public and private organisations. During 2025, the office delivered more than 4,115 specific support services and assisted over 537 different projects filming in Madrid. This represents an increase of almost 7% compared with 2024, reflecting the high level of production in the city and the audiovisual sector’s growing confidence in municipal services. Among the projects supported in 2025, 53 were international and 484 were Spanish.
Analysing the socioeconomic impact of the audiovisual sector in Madrid
Collecting data on the activity of Madrid’s audiovisual sector is a key line of work for Madrid Film Office, which develops annual projects to obtain detailed quantitative and qualitative information to better understand the sector’s reach in the city. In 2025, the office promoted, together with the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM), the project “Economy of the Audiovisual Industry: Dimension and Impact of Filming in Madrid”, aimed at developing a model to determine the socioeconomic impact of feature film and series shoots carried out within the municipal area of Madrid between 2021 and 2024.
The office also continued its promotion of screen tourism through the publication of the Spanish-language brochure Imágenes sonoras de Madrid, which includes sound pieces created by Oscar-winning composer Gustavo Santaolalla in collaboration with students from the TAI University School of Arts, and the organisation of the second edition of the summer walking tour programme “Madrid desde la pantalla” (offered in Spanish). Continuing this promotion of the city’s audiovisual heritage, Madrid Film Office signed a co-production agreement with FlixOlé and the production company Aduna Servicios y Producciones for a creative documentary based on footage of films shot in the city. It is scheduled for release in 2026.
In addition, 13 of the fiction feature films shot in the city benefited from audiovisual grants promoted by the Department of General Coordination of the Mayor’s Office, a relevant factor in the high number of productions carried out last year.
Madrid Film Office support for the audiovisual sector
In 2025, Madrid Film Office participated in 16 festivals, markets and forums to promote the city as a filming location and support the promotion and development of Madrid’s audiovisual industry. Among these were major international events such as the European Film Market at the Berlin International Film Festival (Germany), the Marché du Film at the Cannes Film Festival (France) and Focus, held in London (UK).
At the national level, notable events included the Málaga Film Festival, Shooting Locations Marketplace in Valladolid and the San Sebastián International Film Festival, where, for the fourth time, the city council and the regional government of Madrid organised the event Something’s Cooking in Madrid, showcasing opportunities that Madrid and its surrounding region offer the audiovisual industry. Events promoting screen tourism included FITUR Screen and SET Congress in Bilbao.
Events sponsored by the Madrid Film Office
The office also organised or sponsored 15 events, forums and networking spaces in Madrid to foster the creative and business development of the sector in the city. Notable initiatives included sponsorship of the prestigious Platino Awards, which brought together creators, producers and stars of Ibero-American audiovisual production, and the Iberseries & Platino Industria forum, a key meeting for Spanish- and Portuguese-language audiovisual content, where the office organised talks and a session presenting Madrid-based projects. Madrid Film Office also collaborated on the second edition of the capital’s international co-production event ECAM FORUM, sponsoring two awards for short and feature films in development.
Additional support included sponsorship of Microsalón AEC, the Iris Awards, the Talento Awards offered by the Television Academy, the MIANIMA training programme promoting animation projects led by Ibero-American women, and the online short film festival Notodofilmfest, which includes the Madrid Film Office’s Madrid 21 Districts Award to encourage filming across the city’s 21 districts. The office also launched the Madrid IberLAB networking space for Ibero-American creators.
Support for technological innovation was reflected in the backing of Next Lab Generation and the second edition of Conecta DIGITAL. During the year, Madrid Film Office held a new edition of the afterwork event “Cortamos para…”, at which it presented its new Best Practices Guide for Filming, designed to promote coexistence between the filming industry, the public and the city’s heritage.
It also co-organised new editions of the industry forums Documenta PRO and Animario PRO with Cineteca Matadero, which is managed by Madrid City Council’s Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports; a meeting between Madrid and Italian producers in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute; and the first edition of the AMAE Audiovisual Editing Awards.
AMAE Audiovisual Editing Awards
Other collaborations included the emerging short film development and co-production forum Cine Lab, the ISII Group’s Break on Time Awards, the AAPEE’s Yvonne Blake Awards and the Film Academy Residencies, promoted in partnership with Madrid City Council’s Office for Strategic Projects and Corporate Involvement.
