It is not the first time that a series about Ibiza has had to shoot its scenes on the island outside the island. It also happened with the not very successful White Lines (Netflix, 2020), which was filmed in Mallorca. And it has happened again with the documentary series Narcos in Ibizaby Sky. In this case, the Consell de Ibiza declined any kind of collaboration with the production.
The production, which premiered last July, did not receive the support to which it aspired for the shooting. This was revealed by Juan Miguel Costa, island director of Tourism Promotion of the Consell, at the X Congress of Holiday Homes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgarU3dI4fU “Me vinieron a ver antes del rodaje y cuando me explicaron el proyecto, declinamos participar. Decidimos no darle los permisos para rodar en exteriores de la isla y tuvieron que grabar en un sitio del Levante simulando que estaban en Ibiza. Lo que no podemos prohibir es que graben en cualquier establecimiento privado”, explicó el martes pasado Juan Miguel Costa a raíz de una pregunta que se interesaba por el efecto de este tipo de productos en la imagen de la isla.
When asked by La Voz de Ibiza, the Consell clarified that “we do not prohibit anyone from filming in Ibiza, that is not within the authority of this body”.
Failed collaboration
“The Department of Tourism can collaborate with audiovisual productions that are shot in Ibiza in two ways: through the Ibiza Film Commission, which is responsible for helping in matters such as processing permits (which are not granted by the Consell, but by the municipalities and Costas), locations, etc.; and through Tourism Promotion, through a possible sponsorship contract,” they have detailed.
Thus, there are productions that can aspire to it and others that cannot, depending on their theme and focus: “Everything as long as the content of the filming is in line with the stipulations of the Marketing Plan of the Consell, with themes that value the different tourist segments that exist on the island of Ibiza. Evidently, the theme of this documentary series does not fit the above, so it was decided not to support it”.
In short, Narcos in Ibiza was not banned but was not given “help” in the “processing of permits”.
About Narcos in Ibiza
Although the essence of the three-episode miniseries is documentary, it has a large dramatization component. It follows the drug routes in Ibiza between 1970 and the 2000s, and the police work against drug traffickers, based on testimonies of the protagonists of the events.
One of the main voices of Narcos in Ibiza is that of Jon Imanol Sapieha, better known as El Sapo, who was part of several important robberies in Spain and was part of the Ibizan drug trafficking world in the ’90s. Today, El Sapo lives in Kenya, far from the criminal world.
Party promoter Wayne Anthony is also among those providing testimonials.
Its executive producers are Sacha Baveystock and Tanya Winston, with script and direction by Luke Korzun-Martin. It premiered on July 7 of this year and released its sequel on July 15 of that month.
From British production company Blast Films, which also produced Narcos in Dublin and Narcos in Liverpool, the series can be seen through the streaming platform Skyas well as through Prime Video, Apple TV and Movistar+, depending on the products contracted.
The series has received mixed reviews, highlighting its documentary value but contesting its dramatizations. This is how a commentary by Daniel Keane in The Standard sums it up: “(the director) has unearthed a brilliant cast of reformed criminals and addicts who bring the documentary to life (…) their stories are interrupted by scenes involving actors. In the first episode, this works well and adds atmosphere, but soon becomes irritating. A half-baked story involving an affluent young British woman who gets caught up in the criminal underworld of Ibiza in the 1990s is tasteless and unnecessary.”
Discussion on promotion
The dissemination of this type of audiovisual products distorts the reality of Ibiza, according to the debate that arose as a result of the question. “Those who have never come to Ibiza have an image that has nothing to do with those who have been. For this reason, it is important to promote,” they pointed out from the round table.
