The landscapes and villages of Teruel have been the protagonists of numerous series and films, as well as advertisements in which the roads of Teruel, with little traffic, provide the ideal environment for filming. The province has for years maintained a great presence in the cinematographic field because, as José Antonio Martín Guillén, coordinator of the Teruel Film Commission, explains, “in this case, the depopulation plays in our favor, the fact that filming can still find almost uninhabited places roads and moors and with very little human intervention puts us on the map.
Not only are natural environments valued, but also the large infrastructures available to the province and which are also used for filming, such as the Teruel airport, the Motorland circuit or the Javalambre Astrophysical Observatory. “All this time we have managed to convince professionals from large production companies to trust Teruel because the territory is dedicated to supporting filming. We are completely aligned and have worked hard to make the permitting and filming experience very satisfying.
Last year the province of Teruel witnessed zombie attacks with the series “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon-The Book of Carol”. ‘or the strategies of the contestants of the reality show ‘The Anonymu’s’, whose goal is to be the most popular among their peers during coexistence, but who can criticize anonymously and leave their opponents in a bad light. They have their own social network to do this with an anonymous account and, in the house, they have their own room from which they can express what they want.
Cretas, in Teruel, was the ideal setting for this program because it was a space isolated from the population, private and safe. They recorded both in the residential complex and in the surrounding natural areas and roads. This is one of the big shoots of the year. The City Hall of Cretas and the Matarraña region have also worked to provide the production company with different suppliers, always focusing on proximity, in addition to providing logistical support for the team’s accommodation. This blockbuster had an economic impact of one million euros in the accommodation of the Bajo Aragón Historico.
The filming of “The Walking Dead” was one of the largest ever to take place in the province. Martín explains that the economic impact of such production is not only limited to accommodation, but also has a positive impact on many local producers such as “transport services, set construction, catering, security and even those who are dedicated to ensuring accessibility to places.” facilities. » driving areas.
One of the main settings of this series is the disused railway line between Escatrón and Andorra, supplied by Endesa: “It was perfect for what they were looking for. At the beginning there were other options in Toledo, but the visual environment of Bajo Aragón and the appearance of this particular road appealed much more to the producers,” explains Martín.
The city of Teruel, also cinema
Not only is its sparsely populated environment attractive, but the town of Teruel was the location chosen for the filming of Zaragoza filmmaker Miguel Ángel Lamata’s first horror thriller, “The Tree and the Nightingale”, produced by BEMYBABY FILMS and shot in Teruel. for the most part. The film has two main settings in the city: a house located in an urbanization on the outskirts of Castralvo and the former Comandante Aguado, which was a well-known orphanage in the city at the time.
Actor Eduardo Noriega, one of the protagonists alongside actresses Amaia Salamanca, Cosette Silguero and Anastasia Fauteck, assured Europa Press that the majority of the film had to take place in the city: “Teruel is recurring for Miguel Ángel and for me, where We shot and presented the film “Our Lovers”, and where they always treated me with great affection and hospitality, like two years ago by receiving the Medal of Honor from the lovers of Teruel, or at the Calanda Film Festival, Calamocha. As I say, Aragon and Teruel are talismans for me, synonymous with success and excellent memories.
Concerning the Castralvo house where much of the plot takes place and within whose walls the team has been living together for over a month, Noriega argued that it is a defining piece of “The Tree and the Nightingale.” “It plays a fundamental role, both for the film and for my character, Fran, who feels that his house belongs to him as much as he does himself, a bit like what happens to me with Teruel, a land that is already an important part of my filmography and to which I am already looking forward to returning,” he summarized.
Teruel Film Commission
The Teruel Film Commission, an entity dependent on the Provincial Delegation of Teruel, is a public service intended to attract and support the audiovisual industry in the province of Teruel. They offer different types of assistance such as suggesting locations based on their requests and going on site with them, managing filming authorizations or even support in the filming process.
The entity always works closely with local and regional entities, as well as with provincial authorities who facilitate the processing of filming and recording authorizations. The filming of the films by Oliver Laxe and Miguel Ángel Lamata “The Tree and the Nightingale”, as well as several large format spots, are among the highlights of this year. The data for the whole of 2023 has already been reached, which was already good, with an impact of 2.1 million euros.
According to the latest published report, from March 2023 to March 2024, 20 high-impact shoots were carried out over this period, i.e. five feature films, 12 advertising films and three short films or music videos. This covered ten of the regions of Teruel, with over a hundred sites
