Mediapro Group, the Spanish major that has offices in 36 countries on four continents, is partnering with the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona to implement a series of safety measures that it will use to steer its operations post-coronavirus.
Before the virus, producing arm the Mediapro Studio, which has credits including The Young Pope, was in production on five major drama projects across both film and TV, including the Penélope Cruz and Antonio Banderas feature Official Competition. Those were all put on hiatus by the COVID-19 lockdown, but earlier this week the company told Deadlinee it was now aiming to get back up-and-running, and was approaching each shoot on a case-by-case basis.
“The safety of our crews, both technical and artistic, is of the utmost importance for us here at The Mediapro Studio. We have spent weeks developing strict security protocols in order to ensure that we can continue filming our drama projects with all the guarantees for the teams involved,” a spokesperson told us.
As Deadline reported last week, production is now allowed to resume in some regions of the country (though not in the major hubs of Madrid and Barcelona), and the Spanish Film Commission has published its safety guidelines.
Mediapro is taking this a step further by consulting with the hospital to design a bespoke plan for its post-lockdown existence, which will apply across its entire business. The company employs more than 7,000 people worldwide.
The agreement will involve the hospital conducting a preliminary study into the occupational characteristics of each area of the group, and then the providing of advice for how each section can return to work safely. Specialists from the clinic will also provide training to Mediapro professionals and follow up on any positive cases.
The company added that it was still optimistic it could deliver all five of those drama projects in 2020, or Q1, 2021 at the latest.
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