Direct grants to the Málaga and San Sebastián festivals

The Official State Gazette publishes this Thursday, September 10, 2026, in issue number 224, Royal Decree 727/2026, of September 9, which regulates the direct granting of various subsidies to the companies Teatro Cervantes de Málaga e Iniciativas Audiovisuales, SA, and Festival Internacional de Cine de Donostia-San Sebastián, SA. The regulation, approved by the Council of Ministers at its meeting on September 8, was proposed by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Civil Service and is issued under articles 149.1.13.ª and 149.2 of the Constitution.

Two events, two beneficiaries

The total amount of the aid amounts to 700,000 euros, distributed as follows:

• 500,000 euros for Festival Internacional de Cine de Donostia-San Sebastián, SA, destined for the organization of the seventy-fourth edition of the event.
• 200,000 euros for Teatro Cervantes de Málaga e Iniciativas Audiovisuales, SA (Málaga Procultura), for the thirtieth edition of the Málaga Film Festival.

Both subsidies are financed from the Ministry’s budget and are paid in a single advance payment, with the beneficiaries being exempt from providing guarantees.

Funded activities

In the case of San Sebastián, the aid is destined for the activities of the Industry Department of the 74th edition, which will be held from September 18 to 26, 2026. Among the eligible activities are:

• The organization of the Conference on the Future of Audiovisuals.
• The Zinemaldia & Technology initiative, oriented toward technological innovation in the sector.
• A prize of 30,000 euros for the best Spanish project in the Zinemaldia Startup Challenge competition.
• An institutional presentation by the Ministry on financing tools for the audiovisual sector.

For Málaga, the subsidy finances the MAFIZ Gaming Lab program, a hybrid format of talent laboratory, project market, and training platform aimed at the video game industry, digital creation, and new narratives, with an open call for emerging projects and professional presentation days before juries.

Justification for the direct grant

The regulation invokes the singular nature of both events to resort to a direct grant, in accordance with article 22.2.c) of the General Subsidies Law 38/2003, of November 17. The decree emphasizes that Málaga Procultura is the only company that has organized the festival since its foundation in 1998, and that the San Sebastián company has managed the event since 1990, making any competitive bidding procedure ineffective.

The execution deadlines differ: the activities in San Sebastián are carried out between January 1 and December 31, 2026, while those in Málaga extend from September 1, 2026, to December 31, 2027. The grants are compatible with other subsidies provided that the sum does not exceed the cost of the activity, and are subject to Regulation (EU) 651/2014 regarding general block exemption for cultural aid.

Impact on the sector

The measure reinforces the role of both festivals as key pieces in the cultural projection and economic revitalization of the Spanish audiovisual sector. The decree notes that the San Sebastián festival generated a total production of 47.97 million euros and the equivalent of 419 annual jobs in its 72nd edition, while the Málaga festival mobilized approximately 2.37 million euros in direct spending in the city in 2026, consolidating both as strategic infrastructures of the industry.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 224, Thursday, September 10, 2026, Sec. I, page 120851 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-18905).