- In just a few years, the region of Navarra has gone from hosting occasional film shoots to consolidating itself as a cohesive and competitive audiovisual ecosystem. The sector already accounts for 1% of the regional GDP and brings together more than 90 companies, driven by a top-tier tax framework and a public strategy focused on sustainable growth.
- The Navarra Audiovisual Cluster (CLAVNA) acts as the backbone of the industry, aligning companies, public administration, and training centers around innovation, internationalization, and project attraction. Its public-private collaboration model has made the region a national benchmark in training, employment, and creative cohesion.
With initiatives such as Professor Octopus AI_LAB, the audiovisual R&D unit—unique in applying Artificial Intelligence to creative activities of this kind—and the soft landing program from Invest in Navarra, the region strengthens its position as a preferred destination for technological investment and the production of high value-added content.
The audiovisual industry has become one of the most dynamic drivers of Navarra’s economy. In just a few years, the region has evolved from hosting sporadic shoots to consolidating itself as a cohesive and competitive industrial ecosystem, capable of attracting projects, talent, and international investment. This is evidenced by last year’s double record in both the number and duration of shoots—182 productions and 1,777 shooting days, respectively (link here).
According to data provided by the Navarra Audiovisual Cluster (CLAVNA), the sector already represents 1 % of the region’s GDP. Its network of associated entities has grown from 49 to 92 in the past year—a 47 % increase—showing the strength of a fabric made up of production companies, SMEs, and studios covering the entire value chain, from content creation to digital animation.
This growth rests on a first-rate fiscal framework: Navarra offers a 45 % tax deduction for audiovisual productions, which can reach 50% in the case of animation, short films, or projects directed by women or in Basque. These are among the most competitive incentives in Spain, supported by a fast and secure procedure managed by the Navarra Film Commission and the Department of Culture—building investor confidence and consolidating the industry as a key driver of economic diversification in the region
CLAVNA’s Strategic Role
In this thriving context, CLAVNA acts as the central axis of the audiovisual ecosystem. Created in 2017 within the framework of the Smart and Sustainable Specialization Strategy (S4), its mission has been to structure the sector’s growth, aligning businesses, public administration, educational centers, and knowledge agents. Today, it serves as the main institutional interlocutor and a collaborative space where talent, technology, and strategic vision converge.
Its work plan is structured around four pillars:
- Training and employment, through the creation of the Training Board and collaboration with eight educational institutions.
- Attraction of companies and film shoots, leveraging the Navarra Film Industry brand and joint efforts with Sodena and Invest in Navarra.
- Innovation and technology, promoting the adoption of artificial intelligence, virtual production, and visual effects (VFX) in partnership with IrisLab and the new Professor Octopus AI_LAB.
- International promotion, through participation in major global industry events (Berlin, Toronto, Los Angeles, Annecy), reinforcing Navarra’s reputation as a competitive audiovisual hub.
Arturo Cisneros, CLAVNA’s Managing Director, defines the cluster as ‘a kind of great connection center for the entire Navarra audiovisual industry—a physical and virtual space where talent, companies, training centers, universities, and public institutions come together to strengthen the sector’s entire value chain.’
Navarra offers a 45 % tax deduction for audiovisual productions, which can reach 50 % in specific cases.
He explains that ‘one of our main challenges has been synchronizing the academic world with the industry’s real needs, especially in a context where technology evolves so quickly.’ Therefore, he adds, ‘training and employment are our first strategic pillar, followed by innovation, business attraction, and internationalization.’
‘We’re promoting the integration of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, visual effects, and virtual production, working hand in hand with IrisLab and Professor Octopus, the first lab in Spain specialized in AI applied to the audiovisual sector,’ Cisneros emphasizes. ‘We also have an agile public-private mechanism with Invest in Navarra and the Department of Culture that allows us to attract companies, facilitate filming, and support their establishment in the region.’ ‘We are building a creative community that unites talent and companies to drive a new economy based on cultural and creative industries,’ he concludes.
"We are building a creative community that unites talent and companies to drive a new economy based on cultural and creative industries"
ARTURO CISNEROS
CLAVNA's manager
Audiovisual R&D: AI Applied to the Audiovisual Sector
One of the most recent milestones illustrating the vitality of this industry has been the creation of Navarra’s first business-led audiovisual R&D unit, accredited by the Navarra Innovation System (SINAI). Promoted by Dr. Platypus & Ms. Wombat, this unit—called Professor Octopus AI_LAB—applies artificial intelligence to film and animation production, making it a reference infrastructure both nationally and across Europe.
Its objective is to automate creative and technical processes—from character generation to intelligent rendering—and to develop tools that integrate AI into every phase of the audiovisual workflow. Located in Pamplona, the facility has a multidisciplinary team of over 40 researchers and an investment plan of €2 million over the next five years.
Supported by the regional government and CLAVNA, this initiative strengthens Navarra’s position as a European laboratory for audiovisual innovation, in line with the sector’s digital transformation and the global trend toward the creation of high-tech content.
Carlos Fernández de Vigo, CEO of Professor Octopus AI_LAB, highlights that his team ‘has been working for more than twenty years in the digital entertainment industry—film, video games, platforms—with a single purpose: to create something truly unique.’ He explains that the company bet on artificial intelligence almost a decade ago, ‘long before the ChatGPT explosion,’ and has since focused all its efforts on ‘becoming a benchmark in the development of AI applied to creative fields.’
Invest in Navarra coordinates support for new audiovisual companies, facilitating grants, spaces and contacts to promote their establishment and growth in the region
‘We approach artificial intelligence from two complementary perspectives: the disruptive—what is now possible and wasn’t before—and the human, which seeks efficiency and process improvement in companies,’ Fernández de Vigo notes. ‘We believe AI should be designed and trained around people, values, and professional expertise. We don’t conceive of AI as a substitute, but as an enhancer of human talent. True progress means building technology around experience and know-how.’
INVEST IN NAVARRA: A TAILOR MADE "SOFT LANDING" FOR AUDIOVISUAL INVESTMENT
Within the audiovisual ecosystem, Navarra also offers a unique structure in Spain for assisting new audiovisual companies in setting up operations. Through Invest in Navarra, a soft landing team has been created to act as a one-stop shop facilitating the arrival of national and international companies to the regional ecosystem.
This team—made up of public and private agents—provides an integrated service covering everything from identifying investment opportunities to launching business projects, including tax advisory, location scouting, grant management, and connecting companies with local suppliers and professionals.
The Navarra Film Commission and CLAVNA play a key role in the initial phase of this process, providing leads and strategic contacts derived from their participation in international markets and industry events.
Meanwhile, Invest in Navarra oversees the business support process, detailing available aid for project implementation and growth, identifying suitable industrial or office spaces, and promoting networking with the local economic fabric.
According to Iker Zaratiegui, Head of Investment Attraction at Sodena, ‘the combination of capabilities from all members makes this team a strategic resource to drive the arrival of new companies and strengthen Navarra’s audiovisual sector.’ A soft landing designed not only to help companies arrive but also to grow, create jobs, and establish lasting roots in the region. This is the case, for instance, of the investments made by production companies such as Efectroscopio, Antaviana o Midnight Fear, in Lecároz.
"Our work consists of designing tailor-made artificial intelligences that respond to each company’s real needs and enhance their teams’ capabilities"
