Alcalá Film Office, the city’s film office, will host the first edition of ‘LIFT’, the film locations and tourism event, from 5 to 9 November, with the support of Film Madrid Region. The programme will include workshops on creating tourism experiences inspired by film and television, as well as on finding and transforming locations; specialist podcasts; an exhibition dedicated to filming locations in the Madrid region; and a fam trip—an organised visit for professionals—for location scouts, production companies and other industry professionals, among other activities.
The film industry is growing. Direct spending on film and television production in Spain increased by 45% between 2022 and 2025, according to Spain Film Commission, rising from €3.93 billion to €5.68 billion. Against this promising backdrop, ‘LIFT’ (Location, Industry & Film Tourism) aims to create new opportunities for collaboration between public authorities, the tourism sector and the audiovisual industry, while highlighting the potential of film tourism as a tool for regional development. The event takes place alongside ALCINE 55, the Alcalá de Henares / Community of Madrid Film Festival, as a complement to its programme.
Alcalá de Henares is the municipality with the second-highest number of shoots in the Madrid region, after the capital. To attract new audiovisual productions to the city and strengthen its position as a strategic filming destination, Alcalá Film Office will hold a fam trip for location scouts, production companies and audiovisual professionals on Friday 6 November as part of the LIFT programme. The visit will take in natural and industrial locations, as well as sites in Alcalá de Henares’ historic centre.
Workshops and training activities on both film locations and tourism will make up a significant part of the programme. It will begin on Thursday 5 November with a collaborative workshop to design and develop tourist routes inspired by films and series shot in Alcalá de Henares. Entitled Developing Film and TV Routes in Alcalá de Henares, it will aim to create innovative cultural experiences connecting heritage, audiovisual storytelling and experiential tourism.
The second training workshop is aimed at location scouts: a public session with professionals from the Forest Conservation Department on Friday 6 November at 4.00 pm at Casa de la Entrevista. It will cover the procedures and requirements for filming in natural and forest areas, including the responsibilities and permits involved in using these spaces as audiovisual locations.
Finally, on Monday 9 November, from 9.30 am at Casa de la Entrevista, representatives of several Madrid-region municipalities with experience in designing film routes will share their insights at the professional workshop From Filming to Events: Film Routes in the Madrid Region. Organised with the Spain Film Commission, this industry session will focus on creating high-impact film experiences and tourism events.
The workshop will explore new ways to stimulate local development, including themed recreations, immersive experiences, participatory activities, food-related adaptations and cultural events linked to films and series.
On Monday 9 November, from 12.00 pm at Casa de la Entrevista, representatives of Alcalá de Henares and Hoyo de Manzanares will discuss their work in creating tourism experiences inspired by film and television at a podcast-style event open to the public. They will talk about Cuéntame Alcalá, an Alcalá Film Office project that invites visitors to discover the World Heritage City through locations from Cuéntame cómo pasó, the longest-running series on Spanish television; and Un Pueblo de Película, a cultural and tourism initiative from Hoyo de Manzanares Town Council that celebrates the town’s historic connection with cinema through exhibitions, guided tours, concerts, screenings, recreations and activities inspired by the world of Westerns.
After the podcast, attendees can join the Cuéntame Alcalá Route by registering in advance through the online form (Monday 9 November, 1.30 pm, Casa de la Entrevista).
Later that day, from 6.00 pm, Alcalá Film Office will discuss the experience of shooting the international production The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon in Alcalá with two members of its crew: art director Bárbara Pérez-Soler and location manager Mario Santa Cruz. The event is supported by AEDAA and ALOMAD. It will be open to the public, with free admission subject to capacity, and will feature a presentation of Bienvenido Mr. Dixon, the making-of documentary about the shoot.
Another LIFT highlight, as part of the 55th edition of ALCINE—the festival organised by the Department of Culture of Alcalá de Henares City Council and the Community of Madrid—is the exhibition Madrid para rodar: Alcalá de Henares, a tour of the city’s most emblematic audiovisual locations. It will be on display at the Antiguo Hospital de Santa María La Rica (Sala Antonio López) from 6 November to 8 December.
Madrid para llevar is an art and audiovisual project on Instagram created by illustrator and muralist Sara Velázquez (Savelga) and screenwriter and filmmaker Daniel Utrilla. It tells the story of Madrid through illustrations and short videos. Drawing on its creators’ love of cinema, Madrid para rodar will invite visitors to discover historic shoots, curiosities and anecdotes associated with locations across the region. The exhibition will feature large-format graphic works created for the occasion by Sara Velázquez—whose murals can be found in numerous European cities—accompanied by texts, audio and audiovisual materials. As a starting point, the exhibition will focus on Alcalá de Henares and its connection with film and audiovisual productions.
LIFT is organised by Alcalá Film Office, part of the Department of Tourism of Alcalá de Henares City Council, in collaboration with Film Madrid Region and with the support of Spain Film Commission, AEDAA and ALOMAD.
