Woody Allen

Source: La Biennale di Venezia

Woody Allen

Madrid’s regional government has officially approved a €1.5m grant to support Woody Allen’s next feature to shoot in the Spanish capital next year.

The funding will be paid in three instalments – €150,000 in 2025, €600,000 in 2026 and €750,000 in 2027 – and requires the film to shoot within the Madrid region. In addition to that, the final title must include the word ’Madrid’.

Plot details and casting have yet to be revealed. The film currently has the working title of WASP 2026, which stands for Woody Allen’s Summer Project.

A document published online yesterday by the Madrid regional government reveals that the co-production contract for WASP 2026 was signed on November 10, 2024, between Allen’s longstanding New York-based company Gravier Productions and Spanish outfit Wanda Visión, through Pelicula Wasp A.I.E – Agrupación de Interés Económico, a legal structure used in Spain to channel film investment and tax incentives.

Wanda Visión, headed by brothers José María and Miguel Morales, is a leading Spanish production and distribution banner whose recent credits include Daniel Calparsoro’s All The Names Of God and Antonio Méndez Esparza’s Something Is About to Happen. The company has also worked with directors such as José Luis Guerín, Andrzej Wajda, Oliver Laxe, Carlos Reygadas and Lucrecia Martel.

The document says the project’s public-private financing agreement is framed within the Madrid government’s 2023-2026 tourism strategy, which highlights the growing appeal of film-induced tourism.

The official document reads: “Cinematic tourism, also known as screen tourism or set-jetting, is on the rise. Locations appearing in films or series can inspire audiences to visit those destinations.”

Allen’s relationship with Spain began with Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), produced by Barcelona-based Mediapro, which also backed the director’s Midnight In Paris (2011), To Rome With Love (2012), and Rifkin’s Festival (2020). The latter was shot largely in San Sebastián. 

Allen’s most recent film was the 2023 French-language drama Coup De Chance, which shot in Paris and premiered at Venice.

The partnership between Allen and Wanda Visión marks the director’s first collaboration with a Spanish company outside the Mediapro group.

Spanish media have also reported that Allen recently acquired a residence in one of Barcelona’s most popular neighbourhoods.

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