On 21 April 2026, in partnership with ICEX Spain, the Economic and Commercial Office of Spain in Serbia, SFC co-hosted a focused industry discussion on creative and production collaboration opportunities between Serbia and Spain. The conference moved beyond promotion, offering concrete insights into how collaboration between the two markets can function in practice.
Opening the session, Alvaro Munoz Camacho (ICEX Belgrade) addressed a key perception gap: while Serbia offers highly competitive conditions, skilled crews, cost efficiency, and highly developed production infrastructure, it is still not among the first countries Spanish producers consider for co-production. The discussion, therefore, focused on shifting this mindset through real examples and peer experience.
Serbia Film Commission opened the floor with an overview of the creative, production, and financial pillars of the Serbian film ecosystem. A central case study was the series Cicatriz, presented by Esther Agraso (Plano a Plano) and Marija Vićić (Adrenalin). The project demonstrated an organic partnership model, where Adrenalin was involved from the early creative stage rather than as a service provider. Production was split across 13 weeks between the Basque Country and 3 weeks in Serbia, including post-production, with Telekom Serbia playing a key role in financing. Speakers emphasised that shared working cultures, aligned expectations, and mutual trust were critical to the project’s success, arguably more important for the creative collaboration than financial incentives alone.
Jordi Oliva (Imagic TV) reinforced this point through the Spanish-Serbian animated short Nome is an Island, highlighting the craft and creative input Serbian partners bring to art development. Across discussions, participants acknowledged common structural challenges, particularly in financing mid-range and culturally specific projects, identifying co-production as a practical solution rather than a formal requirement.
The session concluded with a clear takeaway: Serbia’s value lies not only in cost competitiveness, but in its ability to act as a committed creative partner. For Spanish producers, the opportunity is not simply to outsource production, but to build long-term collaborations grounded in trust, shared creative ownership, and complementary industry strengths.