A New Romantic Drama Finds Its Home in Gran Canaria
For the first time, director Beda Docampo has chosen Gran Canaria as the destination to shoot his new film, Antes del Amor (Before Love). This intimate romance delves into the complexities of marriage, featuring a stellar cast led by Roberto Enríquez, Aida Folch, Marta Belmonte, and Juan Grandinetti. “It’s my first time here, and I’m delighted. The people are charming and hardworking, and it’s a welcoming place,” explains the Spanish-Argentine director and screenwriter, who was born in Vigo but raised and built his career in Argentina.
“It’s my first time here, and I’m delighted. The people are charming and hardworking, and it’s a welcoming place,” explains the director and screenwriter, who was born in Vigo but raised and built his career in Argentina before returning to Europe for this ambitious project. The choice of Gran Canaria represents more than just a scenic backdrop—it marks the intersection of Docampo’s international vision with Spain’s emerging status as a major European filming destination.
From Oscar Glory to Canarian Shores: Beda Docampo’s Distinguished Journey
Beda Docampo Feijóo brings impressive credentials to this Gran Canaria production. Born in Vigo, Spain in 1948, he moved to Argentina as an infant where he developed his distinctive cinematic voice. His international breakthrough came with El marido perfecto (The Perfect Husband) in 1993, a sophisticated Dostoevsky-inspired drama starring Tim Roth, Ana Belén, Peter Firth, and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón that earned him an Oscar nomination—a remarkable achievement that established his reputation for exploring complex human relationships through literary depth.
Throughout his four-decade career, Docampo has directed more than 15 feature films, consistently focusing on intimate human dramas. His versatility as a filmmaker was further demonstrated by Francisco (2015), a biographical film about Pope Bergoglio’s journey to becoming Pope Francis, starring Darío Grandinetti. This range—from period romantic dramas to contemporary spiritual biographies—showcases the psychological depth he brings to Antes del Amor.
“After studying film in Buenos Aires, I had a stroke of luck when a script I wrote was ultimately nominated for an Oscar,” Docampo reflects. “This romantic plot was the first of several in my career, but each film teaches you something new about human nature.”
An Idyllic Filming Location
The crew spent three weeks filming in the distinctive Cambalud area of Firgas and other stunning locations around Las Palmas. The production’s centerpiece is a remarkable modern glass house (“casa cristalera”) specifically chosen by Docampo for its architectural sophistication and metaphorical resonance with the story’s themes of transparency and concealment in relationships.
“Fortunately, everything is going very well. The actors and the crew are phenomenal, and the weather is extraordinary,” says Docampo, who highlights the island’s appeal as a filming location due to its “incredible natural beauty.” The choice of Firgas reflects the municipality’s growing reputation as a filming destination—it recently hosted “La Casa entre los Cactus” and offers filmmakers an exceptional blend of traditional Canarian charm and contemporary architectural elements.
The glass house location creates a visual parallel to the story’s exploration of emotional transparency, while the surrounding Gran Canaria landscape provides the warmth and natural beauty that have made the island increasingly attractive to international productions. Within minutes of the main filming location, crews can access historic colonial-style houses with traditional Canarian balconies, dramatic volcanic landscapes, and modern residential developments—offering unlimited visual storytelling possibilities.
Gran Canaria: Europe’s Emerging Hollywood
The production of Antes del Amor benefits significantly from the Canary Islands’ world-class film industry infrastructure. Roberto Enríquez, known for his roles in productions like Vis a Vis, El Embarcadero, and El Desorden Que Dejas, notes that “the Canary Islands have become a natural film set,” having successfully created an entire “film industry infrastructure.”
The Spanish archipelago offers some of Europe’s most competitive filming incentives: productions can access a 50% tax rebate for the first €1 million and 45% afterwards, provided there’s minimum expenditure of €1 million. These incentives are capped at €36 million for features and €18 million per series episode, all compatible with a 4% corporate income tax—making the Canaries financially attractive for both independent and major studio productions.
This financial framework has transformed the islands into a major European production hub. In 2023 alone, the archipelago hosted 130 audiovisual productions with an estimated investment of €150 million, while Tenerife recorded its highest number of feature films (13) since records began. Major Hollywood productions including Fast & Furious 6, Clash of the Titans, Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, and Marvel’s Eternals have all utilized the islands’ volcanic landscapes, year-round subtropical climate, and professional infrastructure.
Exploring the Complexities of Love and Marriage
Antes del Amor breaks away from typical romantic comedy formulas to explore the intricate web of relationships between two married couples living in adjacent houses, whose lives become entangled in a tale of forbidden love. The film examines “the passion, desire, guilt and the need to break with established norms” while presenting “stories of love charged with tensions and contradictions.”
The director explains that the film explores the complexities and contradictions of relationships through this intimate story of neighbors whose arrival triggers a chain of emotions revealing hidden passions and the complexity of human feelings. “It’s a love story—it couldn’t be anything else,” says the filmmaker, but this narrative shows love “in all its faces: passion, desire, guilt and the need to break with established norms.”
Following the spirit of Billy Wilder’s wisdom—”It doesn’t matter what brings lovers together; what matters is what pulls them apart”—Docampo focuses on the forces that threaten relationships rather than their romantic beginnings. The film also addresses contemporary relationship challenges including “the difficulties of marriage, issues of money, health, and guilt,” placing these universal struggles within a specifically Spanish context while maintaining international appeal.
As the title suggests, the movie explores what happens “before love”—the psychological and emotional groundwork that makes profound connections possible or destructive. “Before love, you have to make decisions, you have to see, you have to let yourself go,” explains actress Marta Belmonte.
Not Your Typical Romantic Comedy
Actor Roberto Enríquez describes the plot as “an intimate story” where events begin to unfold between the members of the two main couples, gradually “affecting their relationships” and generating “fears, anxieties, desires, and needs.” He emphasizes that this story “is not your typical romantic comedy,” as each character carries their own baggage and “things are not rosy, which is much closer to real life.”
“These are the kinds of stories that always appeal to me; I think we can all see ourselves in them,” Enríquez notes, highlighting the film’s commitment to psychological realism over conventional romantic formulas.
The chemistry between the four lead actors has been exceptional from the beginning, creating an organic collaborative environment that has enhanced the storytelling process. Aida Folch, known for her roles in the Spanish TV series Cuéntame Cómo Pasó and the film El Artista y la Modelo, specifically praised her working relationship with Juan Grandinetti: “We had seen each other’s work, but we didn’t know each other in person, and it’s been very easy. We work the same way and he’s a charming guy.”
The Cast on Their Characters and the Canary Islands
For actress Aída Folch, this marks her first time filming in the Canaries—”but not the last, because I’ll be back in a month to shoot another movie”—and her first romantic film, “a genre that is always very rewarding and much needed.” The preparation process involved extensive character development work, with Folch and Grandinetti meeting to construct their on-screen couple’s dynamics authentically.
Folch defines her character as “a very self-assured woman who enjoys her life, has her career, her home, but her relationship is on shaky ground, and that’s what unravels her.” Her biggest challenge in portraying the character has been “finding the right tone—light but also realistic,” though she confesses that the key is always “to return to the essence, to look your partner in the eye, let yourself go, and give truth to the moment.”
Marta Belmonte, known for her role as Silvia Orestes in the series Servir y Proteger and currently starring as Marta de la Reina in Sueños de libertad, emphasizes the natural chemistry among the cast: “We had seen each other’s work, but we didn’t know each other in person, and it’s been very easy.” The actress believes that “all the characters have something beyond love,” reflecting the film’s deeper exploration of human complexity.
Similarly, Argentine actor Juan Grandinetti, who has worked extensively in film, television, and theater, hints that his character undergoes “a transformation” throughout the film that is “both very motivating and very distressing.” He adds that while the film is about love, it also “touches on themes of loneliness and each person’s individual journey.”
Director Docampo’s philosophy that “films are the actors” has created an environment where the cast’s input actively shapes the final product, resulting in performances that feel authentic and lived-in rather than performed.
The Canarian Experience: More Than Just a Backdrop
The international cast has been unanimous in their praise for the Gran Canaria experience. “The warmth of the people here is incredible,” notes Juan Grandinetti, while Docampo adds that the combination of “climate and the warmth of the people are more than enough reasons to choose this island as a filming location.”
The production showcases various locations across Gran Canaria, from the ultra-modern glass house in Firgas to the historic streets of Las Palmas. This diversity demonstrates the island’s appeal as what industry professionals call “a continent in miniature”—offering desert landscapes, tropical forests, colonial architecture, and cutting-edge contemporary design all within a compact, logistically manageable area.
The success of Antes del Amor‘s Gran Canaria shoot reinforces the island’s growing reputation as a serious alternative to traditional European filming destinations, offering not just financial incentives but also the creative inspiration that comes from working in genuinely spectacular natural settings.
Production Timeline and Future Prospects
While the Gran Canaria filming phase concluded in late August 2025 after approximately three weeks of intensive shooting, the film currently has no official release date, allowing for comprehensive post-production work. This extended timeline reflects Docampo’s commitment to perfecting every aspect of the film, from the delicate emotional performances to the visual integration of Gran Canaria’s stunning landscapes into the narrative fabric.
The international collaborative nature of the project, with cast and crew coordinating schedules across different countries and projects, demonstrates the sophisticated production capabilities now available in the Canary Islands. This careful pacing allows for the meticulous attention to detail that has characterized Docampo’s previous work, ensuring that Antes del Amor meets the high artistic standards expected from an Oscar-nominated filmmaker working with established Spanish television and film stars.
A New Chapter for Spanish Cinema and Canarian Tourism
Antes del Amor represents more than just another film production—it symbolizes the maturation of Spain’s contemporary cinema and the Canary Islands’ emergence as a major European filming destination. Docampo promises “a dramatic comedy that will make the audience vibrate with characters who are close, imperfect and profoundly human,” suggesting a work that will resonate with international audiences while showcasing the unique appeal of Gran Canaria as both a filming location and tourist destination.
The success of productions like Antes del Amor creates a virtuous cycle: international filming brings economic investment, raises the profile of local locations, attracts tourism, and builds the infrastructure needed to support even more ambitious future productions. For Gran Canaria, hosting a director of Docampo’s caliber represents validation of the island’s investment in becoming a world-class filming destination.
As the film moves into post-production, audiences worldwide will soon discover what the cast and crew already know—that Gran Canaria provides not just a beautiful backdrop, but the perfect environment for creating cinema that explores the deepest truths about human relationships and the complex emotions that define our most intimate connections.
