Funding opportunities for Ibero-American screenwriters in Spain
In Spain, the main state aid for scriptwriters is from the ICAA (Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales), which grants up to €30,000 for fiction projects and €20,000 for documentaries. Spanish nationality is not required, but legal residence in Spain must be accredited at the time of payment, in addition to complying with tax and administrative obligations. This residency requirement also applies, with nuances, to regional aid: for example, in the Basque Country, census registration or territorial ties are required, while in other regions, such as Madrid, aid is aimed at production companies based in the Madrid region.
On the other hand, it should be noted that there is currently no specific aid for directors.
As the requirement of residency in Spain complicates everything, we would like to point out that, in addition to the state aid from the ICAA, there are specific laboratories and programmes for Ibero-American scriptwriters that do not require residency in Spain. We don't know them first hand, but we have seen that the most prominent one seems to be the Ibero-American Audiovisual Project Development Course (CDPAI), organised by Ibermedia in Madrid, which offers script consultancy and comprehensive development of the project, with full scholarships from the Carolina Foundation for Latin American authors. There is also the Ibero-American Script Residency, held in Colombia, and other programmes such as IBEREX, which provides training stays in Spanish cultural institutions.
On the other hand, in Spain there are private initiatives promoted by management entities, such as the SGAE Foundation's Creation Laboratories and the DAMA Ayuda programme, which provide tutoring and, in some cases, financial support. However, these calls usually require the applicant to be a member or have professional ties in Spain, which may limit the participation of foreign scriptwriters unless they have a Spanish producer or meet the membership requirements.
