Elsa Martinez, the director general of Ciudad De La Luz studios in Alicante, has been appointed president of the Spain Film Commission with the intention of “making cinema one of our country’s main industries”.

Martinez arrived as head of the Ciudad De La Luz studios last year bringing with her a wealth of PR experience and now she will take on the role of president at the film commission in an effort to improve the image of Spain as a shooting location to the international market.

 “I am honoured and proud to preside over this organization which has to project an image of our country as an exceptional place for doing all kinds of film shoots and developing any kind of audiovisual production,” said Martinez.

To help achieve this goal, the film commission will move its headquarters to the Ciudad De La Luz studios, which recently hosted Juan Antonio Bayona’s The Impossible, starring Ewan McGregor, and The Cold Light Of Day, starring Bruce Willis.

Martinez will be assisted by a new board of directors that includes Piluca Querol Fernández, from the Andalucia Film Commission, who will be vice-president and secretary; Julia Goytisolo Carandell (Barcelona-Catalunya Film Commission), vice-president; Rubén Gundín García (Estremadura Film Commission), vice-president; Koldo Lasa Aristu, (Navarra Film Commission), vice-president; Ernesto del Río Villagrá  (Bilbao Film Commission), member; Paula Moreno Robledo (Carmona Film Office), member; José Oscar Carrascosa Tinoco (Malaga Film Office), member; Claudia de Santos Borreguero, (Segovia Film Office), member; Peré Luís Clavería Villar, (Terrasa Film Office), member.

The new board will look for funding to create stability at the commission and to boost its operations. One of their key goals is to increase the Commission’s attendance at international festivals and events, developing an ambitious marketing and promotional campaign which will firmly place them on the world market.

They will also start having meetings with the Spanish Ministry of Culture, the film institute ICAA (following the departure of its director general Ignasi Guardans), the Spanish Film Academy and the various key local associations and institutions associated with film, such as FAPAE, EGEDA, SGAE and the television broadcasters with the intention of creating permanent dialogues going forward.

Martinez has worked at several leading PR agencies, including Año Cero Comunicacion, Murphy & Nye, Hannibal Laguna and Peter Murray.  She has also been involved in politics as a town councilor for the opposition Popular Party in the 1990s.

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