Galician Landscapes Worthy of a Film
Galicia has everything needed to become a film location. With its impressive landscapes, cities and villages, vast coastline, surf beaches, tall mountains and beautiful historic stones, it has often served as a set for every genre.
Galicia is magical and filmmakers know it — directors increasingly come to film these four provinces. International directors like Roman Polanski and Spanish names like José Luis Cuerda (a lover of the land), Alejandro Amenábar or Pedro Almodóvar — productions that are now part of celluloid history.
Many Spanish actors and actresses have come, as well as international stars like Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra and Sophia Loren.
Films featuring Galician landscapes
Don't miss these films featuring Galician corners that are now part of the big screen's history.
Mar Adentro (The Sea Inside), Alejandro Amenábar (2004)
Almost entirely shot in Galicia, with some sequences in Madrid or Catalonia. Beach of As Furnas, places in the Arousa estuary, Muros and Noia, and the A Coruña town hall. The story of Ramón Sampedro, left tetraplegic after an accident, and his fight for legal euthanasia and a dignified death.
Los Girasoles Ciegos (The Blind Sunflowers), José Luis Cuerda (2008)
Shot entirely in Ourense — its old town and the San Clodio monastery hotel in Leiro. Set in 1940s Spain, an adaptation of Alberto Méndez's novel.
Butterfly (La Lengua de las Mariposas), José Luis Cuerda (1999)
Set in Civil War Spain, this Spanish cinema masterpiece shows inland Galician landscapes — the Sil canyons, Ribeira Sacra monasteries and the medieval villages of Ribadavia and Allariz.
The Enchanted Forest (El Bosque Animado), José Luis Cuerda (1987)
A magical world among trees. Cambre's fraga, the rural inland landscapes and the village of Sobrado, together with Alfredo Landa.
Elisa y Marcela, Isabel Coixet (2019)
Set in late-19th-century Galicia, based on a true story — the first known precedent of same-sex marriage in Spain. Isabel Coixet's film.
Días Azules (Blue Days), Miguel Santesmases (2006)
Filmed and set in the Ferrol area, especially Doniños beach. Three siblings spend a last summer at the family home. Soundtrack by Galician artist Iván Ferreiro.
Bad Education (La Mala Educación), Pedro Almodóvar (2004)
Shot in places like Ortigueira, A Coruña.
The Skin I Live In (La Piel Que Habito), Pedro Almodóvar (2011)
Begins on one of Santiago's most central streets. Also Ponte Ulla in A Coruña and Pazo de Oca in A Estrada, Pontevedra.
Mondays in the Sun (Los Lunes al Sol), Fernando León de Aranoa (2002)
Galicia in the difficult shipyard industry and unemployment situation. Exteriors in Vigo's most emblematic locations — streets near the harbour, Berbés neighbourhood and the Vigo estuary.
Heroin (Heroína), Gerardo Herrero (2005)
Set in late-1980s Galicia. Filmed in Pontevedra, Vigo, Vilanova de Arousa, Tui and Santa María de Oia — locations like Pazo Baión and the Vigo harbour, key to Galician drug-trafficking history.
