How do filmmakers from the Islands make a living?

Palm"If you find someone who makes a living solely from making films in the Balearic Islands, let me know. And ask them how they do it, let them tell you point by point, I'm interested." These words are spoken by Josep Alorda, a Mallorcan filmmaker who just a year ago collected the award for best documentary short at the Evolution Film Festival with Fallow, also awarded at the Art Jove competition and the Menorca Doc Fest, among others. This year, it's once again part of the program for the fourteenth edition of Evolution, taking place these days in Palma, and this time it features two new documentary short films: In the name of flowers and Both wells.

Despite the achievements of his first short film and the handful of projects he has in progress, Alorda is clear that it is impossible to make a living from it. "For Fallow, which is the short film that has gone best for me so far. I received grants and awards, and I could say I did well, but in total I received about 7,000 euros. And we have to consider that I was the screenwriter, director, editor... I did a lot of work for months, without knowing if I'd get anything out of it. And what are the 7,000 euros for? To compensate for the work done? To support you for a while? They don't last you a whole year, or until things go well again. I'm very happy and grateful, but I can't even imagine making a living from directing."

The other four filmmakers consulted by ARA Baleares, all of whom have had their work selected for Evolution, share the same opinion. Despite the diverse backgrounds and interests of Josep Alorda, Jordi Nadal, Constanza Amengual, Jaume Carrió, and Eugenia Sampedro, they all agree that the goal, when launching their own project, is to find a way to avoid losing too much money, with grants from entities such as the Institute of Culture and Cultural Industries (ICIB) playing a significant role. "I've accepted that it won't make a profit, but that's not why I do it. I do it out of vocation, and if I can make a profit, that is, if I can avoid taking too many losses after a project, great, but I don't consider anything more than that," acknowledges Amengual, co-director of the documentary with Francesca Mas. Margalida, which now presents the short documentary A house.

In the case of the feature film starring Margalida Bover, Amengual and Mas obtained funding through a crowdfunding campaign, while with A house The director has been a beneficiary of one of the IEB's creation grants. "With Margalida We weren't able to apply for many grants because it was a debut film, and many grants already score your experience. Now with A house I've been able to apply for it, and I've realized how important creative grants are because I've seen what help developing a script means. It gets you going and allows you to begin considering the project and looking for other forms of financing," explains the Manacor native, who nevertheless acknowledges that she values being able to relate to cinema from an independent and free perspective. "I sell journalism and work in the UIB communications department, which means my salary doesn't depend on the projects. If it did, I suppose I'd have to approach them very differently," she reflects.

Job insecurity

The inability of island filmmakers to support themselves with their individual projects is by no means a reality exclusive to the Balearic Islands, although the archipelago has some differential factors that contribute to this, such as the limitations of creative aid compared to other territories, such as Catalonia; the rising cost of living in the Balearic Islands; or, obviously, its insularity. Even so, the main study carried out in Spain on the working conditions of filmmakers, promoted by the DAMA entity in 2022 and carried out by Javier Carrillo Bernal and José Antonio Gómez Yáñez, professors at the Rey Juan Carlos and Carlos III Universities, respectively, confirms that the situation is very similar throughout the State.

According to the work, entitled Directing audiovisual works in Spain And accessible through the DAMA website, of the more than 440 filmmakers surveyed, less than 30% stated they enjoyed some degree of job security, with film and series directing jobs occupying them between 9 and 12 months a year, while for almost 60% of those surveyed, job insecurity was the main concern. The vast majority of them—86.1%—acknowledged having to combine directing duties with complementary activities, often linked to the audiovisual world, and only one in ten stated they had been able to direct more than one film in the last five years.

Even so, the number of productions has only grown over the years: according to the latest Film Yearbook published by the Ministry of Culture, 556 short films were produced in 2023, more than double the number a decade earlier – in 2013 there were 237, and the number in these cases was 237 – and the 231 produced in 2013 has risen to 375 ten years later. According to the most recent report by the Spain Audiovisual Hub, the average production cost of a feature film is €3 million, and 40% of the budget is allocated to both artistic and technical staff.

On the other hand, according to the study promoted by DAMA, the gross income received by filmmakers for their directing work was quite diverse, demonstrating the variability of the conditions in the sector: three out of ten did not reach 20,000 euros per year, while 15% exceeded 80,000. It is the latter, in any case, that set the trend of what it means to 'be a filmmaker' within the collective imagination, a job that is very often associated with red carpets and million-dollar budgets, although the reality for the vast majority is very different.

Losing freedom?

"My partner, who has a job that has nothing to do with audiovisuals, is often surprised to learn that when a shoot begins, it's common that none of us who are part of it have been paid anything. Sometimes we don't even know when we'll be paid or have signed anything with anyone, but there we are, 10 or 15 people starting out, guaranteed income." This is how Jordi Nadal explains, who combines his work as a scriptwriter for television formats with his own projects such as The last Hollywood cowboy, which will be shown at the Evolution after having premiered this summer at the Atlántida. The same is true of Jaume Carrió's latest short film, The images arrived on time, which is part of the selection in the Made in Balearic Islands documentary short film category.

"It's the first thing I've done without seeking funding, although the production company Far Visuals and the sponsorship of the Esporles City Council have become essential to be able to take it all over the world. Be that as it may, this case is exceptional, since all my previous shorts have been financed with public aid," shares Carrió, director Orion Hostel and Woody & Woody, with which she collected the Goya for Best Animated Short Film. Asked if she thinks it's possible to make a living exclusively from film in the Balearic Islands, Carrió has a very clear answer. "Unfortunately, I think it's unfeasible to make a living solely from writing and directing in Mallorca, but luckily it is possible to make a living in the audiovisual sector. If we're honest, there aren't that many people on the Iberian Peninsula who make a living from writing and directing. They also have to combine it, for example, with fear, which I never fear: I don't have to either: I don't have to because of my fear: I don't have to because of my fear. The freedom I love so much when making short films. The bigger the project, the more difficult it is to have the absolute control I seek in a personal project that I do because I want to, and not because I'm asked to.

Carrió currently teaches at the CEF, where another of the filmmakers whose work has been selected for the Evolution program, Eugenia Sampedro, trained. Swarm, his second short film afterAny given Sunday, and is proud to be part of a new generation of filmmakers. "I think I come from a generation that's changing things, that's starting to believe it's possible to make films from here, with our own accent and local perspective. It's true that insularity can be complex and sometimes creates logistical obstacles, but I try to see it from the most inspiring perspective: everyone wants to come and film here, so... why should we?"

Festivals, meeting places

Regarding the impact of festivals, which have become the epicenter of current cultural policies and are funded with hundreds of thousands of euros of public money, island filmmakers' opinions vary. They all agree that they have become a meeting point for the sector and a beneficial window both for showcasing their own projects and for learning about those of other island creators, something they celebrate and appreciate. Some of them, however, question certain dynamics: the excessive focus on international exposure for some of these events, rather than their content; the entry fees for works—which, in the case of Evolution, have a discount for Balearic filmmakers, but are still subject to a fee—or the absence of Catalan in their communication channels, something already denounced by ARA Baleares. However, the balance, they acknowledge, is positive. "When you start, each festival is a small push to continue. And then you understand that they are also places to network and build a career," Sampedro assesses.