Martigues, often nicknamed the Venice of Provence for its picturesque canals and Mediterranean charm, is home to a well-kept secret that is the pride of film lovers and film professionals. Beyond its idyllic landscapes, this city is the scene of a real nugget of the film industry: Provence Studios.
Did you know?
Our beautiful city of Martigues hides one of the treasures of the cinematographic universe. This treasure has made it possible to make many successful films such as Titane by Julia Ducournau, or Taxi 5 by Franck Gastambide and Les Tuche by Olivier Baroux. What is this treasure? The largest film studio infrastructure in the South of France, Provence Studios. This infrastructure offers the world of European and international cinema access to a wide range of services, including modular indoor sets, outdoor backlots, stunt tracks, virtual sets, decoration, costumes, carpentry, catering, production offices, etc.
The main building is 26,000 m² with several large floors, the largest of which reaches 2,400 m². And thanks to The Next Stage, its high-tech virtual set, one of the only ones in Europe, as well as its adaptable premises and a solid ecosystem, Provence Studios has managed to seduce, in 2023, one of the biggest American productions, Warner. After the filming of The Nun 2, she plans to return to set up her cameras there.
Let's talk about the environmental side...
In 2014, Provence Studios took a major ecological turn by deploying 28,000 m² of solar panels, setting up rainwater recovery systems, and recycling sets, accessories and furniture from the various shoots. This initiative offers a sustainable solution for production teams who, faced with the legal obligation to dismantle post-shoot sets, can now see 88% of these materials reused. It's their way of combining creativity and environmental responsibility.
And what about education?
Provence Studios has established close links with several training institutions in the Southern Region, such as Les ateliers de l'image et du son (AIS Formation), the Kourtrajmé school, Satis, the École supérieure de réalisation audiovisuelle (ESRA), among others, to boost the film industry. Their ambition? To prepare the next generation of film professionals, both in front of and behind the camera. To facilitate this increase in skills, they make their services and equipment available, giving students the opportunity to practice with state-of-the-art equipment in a professional setting.