Almeria
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The province of Almería has different natural settings that have been protagonists of great international productions. The Tabernas Desert is perhaps the location with the largest number of shoots, due to its size and outstanding plains, boulevards and landscapes.
We suggest you visit some of the most emblematic places for cinema both from productions from the last century such as the well-known ‘spaghetti westerns’ or from this century such as ‘Exodus’ or ‘Game of Thrones’.
Tabernas desert
More than 300 filmings of movies and series make the Tabernas Desert Natural Area, considered the only desert area in the entire European continent, as one of the most outstanding places for movie lovers. Proof of this is the award of the title ‘Treasure of European Film Culture’ by the European Film Academy.
Between the 1960s and 1970s, it stood out as the natural setting for the so-called ‘spaghetti westerns’, among which the US dollar trilogy stands out. Sergio Leone who launched Clint Eastwood to fame. Witness many of these shoots are the current western towns converted into theme parks and recording studios such as Oasys MiniHollywood, Fort Bravo Texas Hollywood and Western Leone.
Other great productions were also shot, such as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, ‘Cleopatra’ or ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’. In recent years, well-known series such as ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Penny Dreaful’, ‘Black Mirror’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ have chosen the boulevards of the Tabernas Desert to set their scenes.
The Alcazaba
The monumental complex of the Alcazaba of Almería has been protagonist of all types of cinematographic productions. Here ‘Cleopatra’, ‘Patton’ or ‘Conan el Bárbaro’ were rotated. Scenes from ‘Game of Thrones’ are recognizable in which its main pond represents the Water Gardens of Dorne.
The Torre del Homenaje de la Alcazaba also served as the setting for the filming of ‘The Wind and the Lion’. There, the character of Candice Bergen and her two children go down a staircase trying to escape at night from the palace where El Raisuni (Sean Connery) has taken him after kidnapping them.
Most recent was the shooting of ‘Wonder Woman: 1984’ for which a series of decorations were installed throughout the enclosure, respecting the ornamental and architectural elements of this space.
Cabo de Gata Salt Flats
The fishing village of Salinas de Cabo de Gata continues to be a great attraction for filming and for visitors. Was the place chosen by David Trueba to shoot a good part of his ‘Living is easy with your eyes closed’. The director chose this neighborhood as the place where the ‘El Catalán’ bar is located, which is actually the old headquarters of the workers of the Cabo de Gata salt mines.
The long road that leads to the Salinas del Cabo de Gata has been seen in numerous film productions, including ‘Never Say Never’, the last 007 film that Connery starred in. This film was also shot in the municipality of Cabo de Gata, specifically, the scene in which Connery and a CIA agent fly to the coast and are observed by a group of locals from a town located in a palm grove.
Monsul and Genoveses
Mónsul beach is one of the most recognized since Sean Connery with his umbrella will scare away some seagulls in ‘Indana Jones and the Last Crusade’. Scenes from ‘The Man Who Lost His Shadow’, ‘Shalako’, ‘Duffy’ or the ‘Queen of Swords’ series were also filmed in this environment, and it served as inspiration for the final scenes of the animated film ‘The Lost Lynx’ , in which the boat that loads numerous animals that have been kidnapped appears moored.
Nearby, another spectacular virgin beach, Los Genoveses, which has made filmmakers fall in love with series like ‘Curro Jiménez’ or ‘Los Hombres de Paco’, feature films have also been shot with ‘The wind and the lion’ or ‘Clavius’. The scenes of the persecutions that in theory took place on the high seas in ‘El Niño’ were filmed on this beach, with Luis Tosar at the controls of a helicopter.
Place El Chorrillo
In El Chorrillo, in Pechina, some great productions have been shot such as ‘Exodus’ or ‘Game of Thrones’. A relatively recent location that offers production companies the possibility of recreating different scenarios in a very specific area of land, and all within walking distance of the capital and with enough space to develop the complex technical work that a great cinematographic blockbuster requires.
‘Exodus: Gods and Kings’ set up five different recording spaces and took up most of the filming in Almería. By having large esplanades, open accesses, paths lined with palm treesalready erected buildings that can be redecorated for different eras, and an orography that fits in with any self-respecting desert space, was erected in the perfect environment for Exodus to be able to solve numerous sequences.
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