The President of the Balearics, Francina Armengol, visited the studios of Palma Pictures on Friday to show her support for the local film sector.
With one of the largest and most expensive productions Palma Pictures has ever been involved in, the BBC’s 20 million pound, six-part adaptation of John le Carré’s The Night Manager, to premiere on BBC1 on Sunday night, Armengol could not have visited the state-of-the-art studios in Marratxi at a better time. Majorca’s audio visual industry has grown rapidly over the past 20 years and Palma Pictures has been the driving force behind the revolution which has transformed the region into a filming/shooting location for the world’s leading film-makers, producers and brands.
Accompanied by the Balearic minister for culture, Esperança Camps, Armengol met and held talks with the CEO of Palma Pictures, Mike Day, the head of location ccouting and public relations, German Traver, the executive producer, Trent Walton and the finance director, Ramon Caravaca. The president was given a tour of the facilities, in particular the large studio, before expressing her support for the local audio visual industry during a meeting with the board members.
Armengol stressed that the industry is becoming increasingly important to the local economy and employment market while also significantly helping to project the region’s image overseas. The BBC used some of Majorca’s most impressive locations during the filming of The Night Manager and, as travel industry experts underline year after year, films and TV adverts, which Palma Pictures also specialise in, help to sell holidays. And Armengol thanked Palma Pictures for the effort it makes in projecting the region’s virtues at film and trade fairs overseas and by attracting film crews and photo shoots from all over the world to the island. She also pledged more support for the industry at large in the Balearics from the government.