Technical data
- Title: BLACK MIRROR
- TV series broadcast on Channel 4 and on the Netflix platform.
- Year: 2011 – 2014 and 2016-2019
- Country: USA
Description and synopsis
Many types of film have been shot on Lanzarote, from comedies, thrillers and horror films to Westerns and musicals, although fantasy films, and more specifically science fiction, are probably the most prolific of the genres that have been shot on the island. This pattern is also true for television, as Lanzarote has hosted legendary series such as Doctor Who and Timm Thaler and in recent years has also been the setting for science fiction sagas from today’s big platforms, such as Foundation (Amazon TV) or Welcome to Eden (Netflix). Another modern fantasy TV classic that was filmed on Lanzarote is Black Mirror. This ground-breaking series full of unsettling dystopian stories began on Channel 4 in 2011, before moving to Netflix.
In the episode filmed in Lanzarote, the director was the Englishman Toby Haynes, author of pieces for other famous adventure and science fiction series such as Sherlock and Doctor Who. The main shooting location was the southern beach of Montaña Bermeja, in the municipality of Yaiza. Located on the edge of the Timanfaya National Park, this evocative, volcanic cove has the nearby Montaña Bermeja (so called because of its magnetic reddish colour), as its backdrop. It is a beach of black sand and very dark lava (this is where the 18th century lava flows arrived) that is not very popular with visitors due to the strong waves and the powerful currents it receives, which mean it is not recommended for swimming. Even so, it is almost impossible not to be attracted by the black and blue patterns that combine on the shore. In addition, next to the beach there is a small saltwater lagoon with greenish and bluish tones which refills with water at high tide and that offers refuge for swimming and observing the incredible mixture of colours that geology and the sea offer to the visitor.
There are many reasons why major national and international production companies are interested in filming in Lanzarote. One of these is the many hours of sunlight that the island enjoys, an ideal natural condition for the audiovisual sector, brought about by its geographical position, bordering the tropics, and its climate, marked by the predominance of the sun. This means that professionals not only find great natural scenery coupled with the fiscal and professional advantages to filming here, but also a territory that offers abundant daylight hours and few rainy days, making outdoor filming much easier and more predictable.
