The project Catalunya, engine of audiovisual and video game innovation in Southern Europe aims to turn Terrassa and L'Hospitalet de Llobregat into the epicenter of an ecosystem made up of companies, platforms, audiovisual media, fairs, festivals, universities, and research centers in these creative industries. The Government, through the Departments of Culture and Business and Knowledge, considers this initiative strategic for Catalonia, being one of those that will opt for European funds, due to its high transformative potential and creator of a new economy. It will be one of the projects that the Government will present to opt for aid, along with other initiatives such as creating in Catalonia a chip prototyping and design industry that is a leader in Europe, taking advantage of the MareNostrum supercomputer.
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One of the pillars of Catalunya, engine of audiovisual and video game innovation in Southern Europe will be the expansion of the Parc Audiovisual de Catalunya, in Terrassa, a reference audiovisual production center. Launched in 2005 by the Terrassa City Council, with the support of the Generalitat, it was built around an old hospital, in the Sant Llorenç del Munt Natural Park. The center has more than 50,000 square meters, with four studios and auxiliary services such as production, backlots, warehouses, or gardens. Films such as REC 2, with Manuela Velasco; The Pelayos, with Daniel Brühl; Spanish Movie, with Sílvia Abril and Leslie Nielsen; or Tengo ganas de ti, with María Valverde and Mario Casas, have been filmed in this space. It has also been the setting for programs such as Operación Triunfo and La Marató. It even hosted the recording of Shakira's Gipsy music video, with the participation of Rafa Nadal.
Now, European funds must serve to expand these facilities, with a new center with six 1,500-square-meter sound stages, two 800-square-meter sound stages, and another 500-square-meter sound stage, equipped with the latest adapted technology. The Govern's initiative, which features Terrassa and L'Hospitalet as protagonists, foresees the creation of production rooms, sound mixing and podcast recording studios, a business cluster, or incubation and co-working spaces. They also want to develop spaces for creating interactive content, a project laboratory involving artificial intelligence, 5G, and robotics, and areas for advice, training, business attraction, and professionalization of the audiovisual and video game industry.
The Generalitat thus aspires to promote the most innovative sound stage space in Europe, attract global companies that work with local talent and create internationally relevant products, and create a common work environment. In addition to the expansion of the Parc Audiovisual, L'Hospitalet will be able to position itself in this new hub, thanks to its Districte Cultural, a nest of artists and creators that is increasingly strengthening; to the Centre d'Innovació i Formació per a l'Ocupació (CIFO), a reference center for graphic arts, or to Torre Barrina, a public facility for multimedia technical support for social, educational, and community projects. Furthermore, for next year, the Fira de Barcelona venue located in the city led by Núria Marín will host the ISE fair, one of the largest technology events in the world focused on the audiovisual sector, which until now was held in Amsterdam.