Alicante, a natural film and television set
With its Mediterranean beaches, ancient castles, picturesque streets and iconic landscapes, Alicante has established itself as a leading location for national and international productions. Directors, actors and technical crews have found the perfect backdrop here to tell unforgettable stories that have left an indelible mark on the silver screen.
In 2024, Alicante hosted a total of 48 film shoots, including films, series, short films, documentaries, television programmes, commercials, music videos and photo reports, a figure very similar to that of the previous year. In the last three years, notable films shot in the city include Alejandro Amenábar’s ‘El Cautivo’; the latest instalment of the ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ saga; Guy Ritchie’s ‘The Covenant’; ‘La Mala Influencia’ and ‘Road to Bethlehem’. The series ‘Mar afuera’, ‘Sud Est Babylon’ and ‘Sin huellas’ also chose Alicante as their setting, as did the music videos by Arkano and Mocedades.
In this section, we invite you to discover some of the most notable film shoots that have chosen our city as a set for films, television series and commercials between 2022 and 2024. We will soon be expanding this section with new projects that choose Alicante as their filming location.
FILMING IN 2024
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (feature film)
Director: Kelly Marcel.
Production company: Marvel Entertainment, Arad Productions, Columbia Pictures, Hutch Parker Entertainment, Matt Tolmach Productions, Pascal Pictures.
Filming locations in Alicante: Ciudad de la Luz Film Studios, for two months.
Available on: Amazon Prime Video y Movistar Plus+.
Synopsis: Eddie Brock and Venom are on the run, pursued by forces from both the human world and the symbiote world. Faced with a devastating decision, their “last dance” could mark the end of their saga.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/whyT4WCy7ek
La Mala Influencia (feature film)
Director: Chloé Wallace.
Production company: Imperfect Films.
Filming locations in Alicante: an Gabriel neighbourhood and Ciudad de la Luz film studios.
Theatrical release date: 24 January 2025.
Available on: Netflix.
Synopsis: Reese Russell (Rochera) enjoys the perfect life, but everything gets complicated when a series of strange events begin to happen around her and she starts receiving anonymous threats. Her father, Bruce (Arce), must find a job for the young criminal Eros Douglas (Olmo) and decides to entrust him with his daughter’s protection. Thus, the feared Eros becomes the new bodyguard of the innocent Reese. They belong to very different worlds, but when they are together, they feel a special chemistry. Was it a good idea to bring them together?
(Source: Film Affinity)
‘El Cautivo’ (feature film)
Director: Alejandro Amenábar.
Production company: MOD Producciones.
Filming locations in Alicante: Santa Bárbara Castle and Ciudad de la Luz film studios.
Theatrical release date: 12 September 2025.
Alejandro Amenábar’s eagerly awaited film chose Alicante as one of its main locations. Featuring the imposing Santa Bárbara Castle and the Ciudad de la Luz film studios, the film takes advantage of the city’s rich history and landscape to immerse the viewer in an atmosphere charged with mystery and excitement.
Synopsis:
The year is 1575. Young soldier Miguel de Cervantes is captured on the high seas by Arab pirates and taken to Algiers as a hostage. Aware that a cruel death awaits him there if his family does not pay his ransom soon, Miguel finds refuge in his passion for storytelling. His fascinating tales restore hope to his fellow prisoners and eventually attract the attention of Hassan, the mysterious and feared Pasha of Algiers, with whom he begins to develop a strange affinity. As conflicts grow among his companions, Miguel, driven by his unwavering optimism, begins to devise a risky escape plan.
‘Mar Afuera’ (series)
Director: Laura Gómez-Castaño
Production company: Atresmedia Studios / Beta Fiction Spain SL.
Filming locations in Alicante: Playas de la Almadraba y de Urbanova y Colonia Requena.
Release date: 14 September 2025 (A3 Player)
Available on platforms: A3 Player.
Mar Afuera is a drama series that explores the life of a coastal community undergoing social and personal changes. Filmed in iconic locations in Alicante, the beaches of Almadraba and Urbanova and Colonia Requena, the series takes advantage of the city’s cultural and natural wealth to create an authentic and vibrant atmosphere. Its premiere on A3 Player marks a milestone for the city, which is establishing itself as a key setting for television fiction.
Synopsis:
Álvaro (Gabriel Guevara) and Carlos (Hugo Welzel) are two new arrivals at a juvenile detention centre located by the sea. While serving their sentences, they will have to face threats from the Los Pajaritos gang without losing hope in an increasingly bleak future. But inside, they will also find support from inmates such as Saray (Laura Simón), a young woman who prefers to live in the centre rather than return to her troubled life on the outside, and from workers such as Mario, a man who will go so far as to put his own life in danger to help these young people. (Source: A3Media)
‘Sud Est Babylon’ (series)
Director: Jean-Baptiste Alazard
Production company: BMB Production.
Filming locations in Alicante: Urbanova Beach, Airport and El Plantío.
Release date: 5 June 2025 (France 3 / France.tv)
Availability on platforms: Available on France.tv and European on-demand platforms
French series set in Singapore involving more than 400 people, including technical crew and extras. It tells the story of an expatriate couple seeking to rebuild their relationship and dealing with the consequences of a crime. It was filmed over more than a month at locations on Urbanova Beach, El Plantío and the airport.
Synopsis:
In Singapore, an ultra-modern city where skyscrapers coexist with mangroves, Justine and Simon arrive with their daughter to start a new life. New job, new life and a new dynamic for their relationship. In the small, uniform community of French residents, Élisa Delestré stands out as a real oddity. Tortured and eccentric, she is a free spirit who immediately captivates Justine. The sudden murder of this new friend shocks Justine and the entire community. Secrets, lies and betrayals begin to shake up the seemingly orderly universe of the French in Singapore. The veneer begins to crack. And none of this will escape Adam Wong, the inspector in charge of the case.
“Huele a Don Miguel” (short film)
Director: Paco Martínez.
Production company: Oceánica Films y Fibra Valencia.
Filming locations in Alicante: Santa Bárbara Castle and Espacio Séneca.
Synopsis:
Directed by Paco Martínez, Huele a Don Miguel is a sequel to Dulce Don Miguel, filmed eleven years earlier. The new instalment was filmed in various locations in the province of Alicante, including the Miguel Hernández House Museum in Orihuela, the Orihuela air-raid shelter, El Palmeral de Elche, the Teatro Circo in Orihuela and Santa Bárbara Castle in Alicante.
The short film features a distinguished cast that includes Micky Molina, Jorge Roelas, Fele Martínez, Al Fernández, Raúl Martínez, and Rafael Amargo, who plays the ‘alter ego’ of the poet Miguel Hernández in a more spiritual vision of the character.
Music video for the song “Te perdiste” by the artist Arkano
Production company: Juno Media
Filming locations in Alicante: Various locations.
Music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVygUthTo28
Music video for “Si tú me dices ven” by Mocedades and Rafael Basurta de Los Panchos
Production company: Pedro Ponce
Filming locations in Alicante: Casino de Alicante.
Music video: https://youtu.be/k28SG3Id4E0
RODAJES EN 2023
‘In the Depths of the Seine’ (feature film)
Director: Xavier Gens.
Production company: Coproducción Francia-Estados Unidos; KHV Films, Let Me Be.
Filming locations in Alicante: Water tank at Ciudad de la Luz Film Studios.
Available on streaming platforms: Netflix.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/pfoOH2bKz3Y
Synopsis:: Scientist Sophie is forced to confront her tragic past to save Paris from a bloodbath when a giant shark appears in the Seine.
‘Road to Bethlehem’ (feature film)
Director: Adam Anders.
Production company: Affirm Films, Anders Media, Monarch Media, SPACE + ART Entertainment, Story Collective.
Filming locations in Alicante: Santa Bárbara Castle.
Theatrical release date: 15 December 2023.
Availability on platforms: Netflix y Apple TV (rent or purchase).
Trailer: https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/evideos.php?movie_id=501000&dmplayersource=share-send
Synopsis: Christmas musical based on the story of the birth of Jesus, with Antonio Banderas as King Herod, Milo Manheim as Joseph, and Fiona Palomo as Mary.
‘Enemigos’ (feature film)
Director: David Valero
Production company: A-Típica Films
Filming locations in Alicante: Rodada íntegramente en Alicante. Puente Rojo, Colonia Requena, Ciudad de Asís, Florida Portazgo, polígonos industriales.
Theatrical release: 9 May 2025.
Availability on platforms: Amazon Prime Video.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/ppCTBH8jgwU
Synopsis: Two teenagers from rival neighbourhoods — Chimo and El Rubio — live a story of enmity and revenge that takes an unexpected turn in their lives.
‘La ley del Mar’ (miniseries)
Director: Alberto Ruiz Rojo
Production company: Studio60 y MCFLY Producciones para RTVE y À Punt
Filming locations in Alicante: Ciudad de la Luz Film Studios, Poniente Quay in the Port of Alicante.
Premiere: Broadcast on À Punt and RTVE Play (La 1).
Available on platforms: RTVE Play (La 1).
Synopsis: On 14 July 2006, José Durá ‘Pepe’ (Luis Tosar) and nine other crew members of the fishing boat “Francisco y Catalina” made the decision, under the so-called “law of the sea”, to take on board their boat (equipped for 10 crew members) 37 African immigrants stranded ten miles from Malta, including a 2-year-old girl and a pregnant woman. For nine long days, the boat waited for a decision from the European authorities. While negotiations took place between diplomats from half of Europe, more than 60 people lived together in just 50 square metres. (Source: Filmaffinity)
‘El inmortal’ (series)
Director: José Manuel Lorenzo (creador), Rafa Montesinos, David Ulloa.
Production company: Movistar Plus+, DLO Producciones, Telemundo International Studios.
Filming locations in Alicante: Port.
Available on platforms: Movistar Plus y Prime Video.
Synopsis: During the 1990s, cocaine trafficking and distribution in Madrid’s nightclubs was in the hands of a gang that made hundreds of magazine covers and television programmes: Los Miami. “El Inmortal” was their leader. This story is inspired by his reign and the city that saw him die so many times. Álex García stars in the story as the leader and founder of the Los Miami gang. The cast also includes Emilio Palacios, Marcel Borràs, Jason Day, María Hervás, Teresa Riott, Jon Kortajarena, Claudia Pineda and Francis Lorenzo. (Source: Filmaffinity)
Trailer: https://youtu.be/X5QwNJOjHsU
‘Camilo Superstar’ (miniseries)
Director: Curro Novallas.
Production company: Atresmedia Televisión, Buendía Estudios.
Filming locations in Alicante: Teatro Principal and Real Casino de Alicante.
Available on: A3 Player and Prime Video.
Synopsis: Camilo Sesto decides to adapt, in the midst of the dictatorship, Jesus Christ Superstar, a modern, transgressive musical with international success that revolutionises the country and makes history. But he will not be alone in this endeavour. He will be joined by other idealists who, like him, felt the urge to take a risk and bring the most revolutionary rock opera of the moment to this country. The four musketeers of this odyssey will face all kinds of obstacles. An odyssey full of setbacks, some fortuitous, but many of them caused by the circumstances of the moment. The series delves into the soul of the artist, exploring what led him to risk his fortune and his career in such a complicated context and to give it all up, at the height of his success, with a definitive gesture: shaving his beard for an advert and donating the money to an orphanage. (Filmaffinity)
Trailer: https://www.filmaffinity.com/es/evideos.php?movie_id=176094&dmplayersource=share-send
‘Las largas sombras’ (series)
Directors: Clara Roquet, Júlia de Paz.
Production company: DLO Producciones para Disney+.
Filming locations in Alicante: Cala Palmera, the harbour and Postiguet beach.
Available on: Disney +, Prime Video.
Synopsis: The story of a group of women whose stable and successful lives are suddenly shaken by the discovery of the remains of one of their high school classmates, who disappeared during their end-of-year trip to Mallorca twenty-five years ago. (Source: Filmaffinity)
Trailer: https://youtu.be/nX8qFJpf06Y
‘Miskina. Pobre chica’ (series)
Directors: Melha Bedia (creator), Yohan Gromb (creator), Xavier Lacaille (creator), Melha Bedia, Anthony Marciano.
Production company: Quad.
Filming locations in Alicante: The vicinity of Finca Adoc and Calle Sol Naciente, in the Albufereta neighbourhood.
Available on platforms: Prime Video.
Synopsis: Fara, 30, is unemployed, homeless, without a boyfriend, and has serious myopia. With her grandmother, mother, and sister constantly nagging her, it’s time to start making her own decisions, believe in her own stories, and face the truth. If life keeps tripping you up, you have to take control and stop being a ‘miskina’ (poor thing). (Filmaffinity)+
Trailer: https://youtu.be/X7LmwSAS8zc
FILMING IN 2022
‘Sin huellas’ (series)
Directors: Carlos de Pando (creator), Sara Antuña (creator), Paco Caballero, Koldo Serra, Gemma Ferraté, Samantha López Speranza.
Production company: Zeta Studios, Amazon MGM Studios.
Filming locations in Alicante: Plaza Mediterráneo, Explanada de España, Alfonso El Sabio, Rambla Méndez Núñez, other locations in the city centre, and the beaches of Urbanova and Aguamarga.
Available on platforms: Prime Video.
Synopsis: Desi (Carolina Yuste) and Cata (Camila Sodi) find a dead body in the mansion they have just cleaned. Horror. Panic. Call the police. Wait a minute, a gypsy and a Mexican immigrant have cleaned up a crime scene? They are the perfect culprits. Now they have to escape from the police, but also from Russian hitmen, a millionaire family and an ex-husband with mariachis. Let’s see how they get out of this mess.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/XVTm3Zrcs4M
‘The Covenant’ (‘El pacto’) feature film
Director: Guy Ritchie.
Production company: Coproducción Reino Unido-Estados Unidos España. STXfilms, Fresco Film Services, Toff Guy Films.
Filming locations in Alicante: Barrio Colonia Requena.
Available on streaming platforms: Prime Video.
Synopsis: During his final tour of duty in Afghanistan, Sergeant John Kinley enlists local interpreter Ahmed to be his translator in the region. When his unit is ambushed, Kinley and Ahmed are the only survivors. With enemies in pursuit, Ahmed risks his own life to try to carry the wounded Kinley across miles of gruelling terrain to safety.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/jhKVfTxSSAs
‘El libro negro de las horas’ (booktrailer)
Book trailer for the crime novel written by Eva García Sáenz de Urturi. Published by Editorial Planeta.
Filming locations in Alicante: Alicante Municipal Cemetery.
Synopsis: Someone who has been dead for forty years cannot be kidnapped and, of course, cannot bleed. Vitoria, 2022. Former inspector Unai López de Ayala —alias Kraken— receives an anonymous call that will change what he thinks he knows about his family’s past: he has one week to find the legendary “Black Book of Hours”, a rare bibliographic gem, or else his mother, who has been resting in the cemetery for decades, will die.
‘Yo me drogo’, by Uña y carne (music video)
Director: Carlos Salado.
Production company: Clave Producciones.
Filming locations in Alicante: Plaza del Mediterráneo and Puente Rojo.
‘Jerusalem’ (short film)
Director: Marina Velázquez.
Production company: Jaibo Films.
Filming locations in Alicante: Plaza de Santa María.
Synopsis: Two thousand years after Jesus entered Jerusalem, Emilio and Sara arrive in Benidorm to spend the Easter holidays. Following the death of their mother, father and daughter must learn to live without her. Over the course of a week, like Jesus, Sara experiences her own episodes of the Passion. These days mark the end of one stage of life and the beginning of another: the end of childhood and the start of adolescence.
‘Hercules, One Hundred Years of a Myth’ (documentary)
Director: Manuel Galipienso.
Production company: Oceánica Films
Filming locations in Alicante: Urbanova.
Available on platforms: À Punt Media https://www.apuntmedia.es/documentals/hercules-cent-anys-dun-mite_134_1603783.html
Synopsis: The documentary celebrates the centenary of Alicante’s Hercules football club, tracing its history through interviews with players, coaches, managers, fans and historians. It shows key moments in the club’s history, from its beginnings to the present day, and explores the sense of belonging and passion it generates in the city of Alicante.