In June 2024, the Spanish government approved the Proyecto de Ley del Cine y de la Cultura Audiovisual, forwarding it for parliamentary processing under the urgency route.^[1] This approval comes after the text was presented by former minister Miquel Iceta in 2022 but discarded due to the dissolution of the parliament after the Prime Minister called for fresh general elections.

The proposed bill is part of Spain's Audiovisual Hub of Europe Plan and the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.^[2] It aims to adapt to the evolution of the movie sector by refreshing an ageing legislative framework that dates back to 2007. Overall, its purpose is to strengthen and support the creative and industrial fabric of the cinematographic and audiovisual industry by focusing on five main principles: 

• Giving special attention to independent industry players.
• Supporting authors and safeguarding the exercise of IP rights, boosting creative autonomy and artistic diversity.
• Recognizing the need to adapt to new technologies, formats and consumer formats, promoting digitalization and sustainable practices.
• Defending free competition and decreasing information asymmetries by fostering transparency in the audiovisual market.
• Enhancing Spain's audiovisual heritage.

Key provisions

Following these principles, the draft bill outlines several critical updates designed to modernize and proactively support Spain's movie industry. These are the main updates:

• Comprehensive public aid: The draft law provides broad support across the entire value chain of the industry, including creation, development, distribution, exhibition, conservation, and internationalization. It also supports festivals, awards, literacy, and technological R&D.
• Diversity, equality and accessibility: Emphasizing gender equality, the draft law includes specific measures for equal opportunities in aid allocation and imposes accessibility requirements for receiving public aid. It also requires compliance with job quotas for people with disabilities and universal accessibility in movie exhibition, and states that the Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA) will adopt initiatives aimed at drawing attention to the role of women in Spain's movie and Spain's audiovisual heritage.
• Market competitiveness: To increase transparency, the draft law expands current reporting obligations, requiring not only cinemas but also audiovisual media service providers (platforms) to comply with the procedures for declaring attendees/viewers and revenue data of the audiovisual contents they display. Additionally, it encourages the proper exercise of IP rights by establishing that the ICCA will cooperate with law enforcement agencies fighting against activities infringing intellectual property rights.
• The protection of audiovisual heritage: The draft law sets forth the modification of the Ley 16/1985, de 25 de junio, del Patrimonio Histórico Español to explicitly integrate movie heritage as part of Spanish historical heritage. It also mandates specific aid for its conservation, and requires recipients of public aid to provide materials to the Filmoteca Española" being classified as a “Bien de Interés Cultural.”
• Dialogue and Cooperation: One of the main novelties is the creation of the Consejo Estatal de Cinematografía y Cultura Audiovisual, which will promote spaces for debate, conciliation and mediation. This new body will be responsible for periodically developing and publishing a strategic plan for movie and audiovisual culture, as well as reporting on the sector's proposals and interactions.

Points of controversy

Despite not introducing dramatic changes in the fundamentals and philosophy of Spanish public aid, the draft bill does contain novelties that have been somewhat controversial among the main players of the movie industry:

• Definition of cinematographic work: Now defined as "an audiovisual work intended primarily for commercial exploitation in cinema theatres," the requirement for the movie to be "fixed in any medium or support" has been eliminated from the definition of Cinematographic Movie in the draft bill. Owners of movie theatres in Spain were concerned about the possible repercussions that opting for a more lenient definition of the concept may entail.
• Expansion of aid beneficiaries: The proposed bill intends to expand the scope of national aid beneficiaries to include television series. While some players in the market applaud the authorities for accepting the diversity that already exists in the industry, this move has proven divisive regarding producers who demand separate funding mechanisms.
• Movies' nationality: A movie's nationality not only determines whether it can be calculated for the 20% EU quota (see below for further details), but also whether the movie is eligible for national aid and tax incentives. Some market players had asked that the equipment, services and supplies of each phase must be contracted in a sufficient percentage in Spain or another EU country. Instead, the bill promotes more flexibility in this regard.
• Screening quotas: The new draft law significantly relaxes the current 25% screen quota for EU movies in cinemas as it not only reduces the quota to 20% but allows its fulfilment with the screening of Ibero-American movies and gives double-value for quota computation to movies that meet certain criteria (such as being animated movies or documentaries; being directed by women; including accessibility systems for people with disabilities).
• Age ratings: Age recommendations and disclaimers are currently decided by a committee of the Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes. Under the draft bill, this responsibility would fall on the distributors, or producers, whose decision would only be challengeable after the movie has already been released. While presumably being more efficient and reducing the administrative burden, this transition to self-regulation opens the door for discrepancies in rating criteria, potentially undermining the protection of minors and leading to posterior conflicts and lawsuits.
• Exclusivity windows: The emergence of streaming platforms has brought about a radical change in the way audiences consume audiovisual content, increasing the friction between traditional theatres and other forms of distribution channels. The draft law doesn't address the issue of exclusivity windows, trying to enhance competition.

Conclusion

Overall, the Proyecto de Ley del Cine y de la Cultura Audiovisual is a significant update to Spain's legislative framework for the film and audiovisual industry. By addressing the evolving landscape of the sector and incorporating measures to support creativity, transparency and heritage, the draft law aims to strengthen Spain’s position as a leading audiovisual hub. But the proposed changes have sparked some debate, particularly regarding definitions, aid distribution, and market regulations. As the draft law progresses through parliamentary processing, these issues will likely be central to the discussions and potential amendments.

^[1] Consejo de Ministros. (2024, June 11). El Gobierno Aprueba el Proyecto de Ley del Cine y de la cultura audiovisual. La Moncloa.
https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/consejodeministros/resumenes/paginas/2024/110624-rueda-de-prensa-ministros.aspx

^[2] El Gobierno retoma el proyecto de ley del cine y de la cultura audiovisual y Lo Remite a las cortes. Ministerio de Cultura. (2024, June 11). 
https://www.cultura.gob.es/actualidad/2024/06/240611-ley-cine.html