Country of cinema

Country of cinema

Administrative structure

The country is made up of 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities: Ceuta and Melilla, each with their own government. The central government and its different departments is based in the city of Madrid, and there is a central government office in each autonomous community.

The autonomous communities are divided into administrative jurisdictions with different names depending on the region: councils, provinces, insular boards or town councils.

The municipalities, or town halls, are the basic local entities of the country's territorial organisation. They consist of a specific area which may include one town or more and are given different names depending on the region; Ayuntamiento, Concejos, Consellos or Ajuntament.

There is also a conglomerate of public national, regional or municipal companies, foundations and consortiums which manages facilities or services. In each case they offer different facilities for shoots, and this information can be obtained at each of the offices in the Spain Film Commission network.

Spain is a large and diverse country with certain specific characteristics which you should be aware of when you begin working on an audio-visual project. Below is some useful information, which can be expanded on in case of any queries by contacting the office of the Spain Film Commission network in the territory you are shooting in.

Languages

The country's official language is Spanish or Castilian Spanish and there are six autonomous communities with co-official languages, a fact to take into account as the names of institutions, entities and signs in public places may vary from one territory to the next.

Catalonia: Catalan and Aranese
Valencian Community: Valencian
Galicia: Galician
Balearic Islands: Catalan
Navarre and the Basque Country: Basque