The island of El Hierro (Canary Islands) is the winner of the third edition of the EUFCN Location Award, the award for best European location in the film and TV industries organized by EUFCN, in collaboration with Cineuropa.

The Spanish island has been chosen from among 10 European locations as the best film location of 2019, for playing the perfect setting for the thriller TV series Hierro, created by Pepe Coira and directed by Jorge Coira.

During the first phase of the competition, each EUFCN member had the opportunity to submit one location from a film, a TV series or a documentary shot in their country and released between January 2018 and July 2019. Ten wonderful locations were shortlisted, and the general public had then the chance to vote for their favourite on the Cineuropa website. One lucky winner was picked among the voters and won a trip to El Hierro.

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“EUFCN, as the network of all film commissions in Europe, wants to highlight the importance of locations and the work done by our members by giving out this Location Award” says EUFCN president Truls Kontny. “We are proud to do so for the third year in collaboration with Cineuropa and EFM. It is a great honour and also a great pleasure to hand out this prize to such a wonderful location and to such a hard working film institution.”

The award was received by Natacha Mora, director of Canary Islands Film during the EUFCN Location Award Ceremony that kicked off EFM Landmark 2020.  “I want to thank EUFCN on behalf of all the Canary Islands. It is an honour to be acknowledge as best European film location of the year. El Hierro is the smallest island in the archipelago and has truly magical landscapes. The success of the series “Hierro” translates into the upcoming second season, which will start shooting soon. We are sure everyone is really excited about this award, from the film crew to El Hierro residents and the series’ fans.”

El Hierro is the smallest of the Canary Islands, and the most westerly point of Spain. It is characterized by incredible contrasts, both in and out of the water. From its seabed, to its craggy coastline or its extremely dramatic sheer cliffs. The intriguing landscapes of El Hierro, a paradise in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, are strongly connected to the plot of the Spanish “southern noir” Hierro. A young man is found dead in the sea the day of his wedding. Candela, a temperamental judge, and Diaz, a shady local businessman, investigate the murder case. The island itself is a true protagonist of the story.

The TV series Hierro was produced by Movistar +, ARTE France, Portocabo and Atlantique Productions. The first season was released on Movistar + on June 2019.

An image from TV series Hierro ©️DoP José Luis Bernal

The candidates for the 2019 EUFCN Location Award were:

• Hellenic Film Commission (Greece): Athens
• Vilnius Film Office (Lithuania): City of Vilnius
• Berlin Brandenburg Film Commission (Germany): Delphi Theatre
• North Macedonia Film Agency (North Macedonia): Dorfulija 
• Canary Islands Film (Spain): El Hierro
• Screen Ireland (Ireland): Luggala
• Lviv Film Commission (Ukraine): Lviv
• Roma Lazio Film Commission (Italy): Rocca Guidonesca di Rocchettine
• screen.brussels (Belgium): Royal Brussels
• Istria Film Commission (Croatia): Završje-Piemonte d’Istria

The European Film Commissions Network is a non-profit association that supports and promotes the European film industry and culture. It currently represents 91 European film commissions and film institutions from 30 different countries.