French cinema filmed in Lanzarote

Lanzarote’s connection with France is long and fruitful, with cinema becoming yet another chapter in a close relationship blessed by the waters of the Atlantic. It was from the historic port of La Rochelle, in the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, that the expedition departed that would permanently link Lanzarote’s future to Europe. In 1402, with the support of the King of Castile, the Norman knights Jean de Bethencourt and Gadifer de La Salle anchored their ships at Papagayo, in the south of Lanzarote, to begin their conquest. That encounter between the islands’ earliest inhabitants and the late medieval European expansion completely changed the course of Canary Islands’ history.

It is precisely in Papagayo, one of Lanzarote’s most photogenic coves, where we propose to begin our route. This is a flexible itinerary, adaptable to different rhythms, allowing visitors to discover stories of French cinema filmed in Lanzarote, as well as cultural details and corners of the “island of volcanoes”—a land whose landscapes and people captivate tens of thousands of French tourists every year.

We start in Papagayo because this beach hosted several scenes from The Possibility of an Island (2007), directed by Michel Houellebecq, who has occasionally ventured into acting and filmmaking, though he is best known for his literary career, where he is considered a true enfant terrible of French literature. In fact, the film is based on his novel of the same name, which won the Prix Interallié in 2005. Houellebecq had already written a book titled Lanzarote in 2000, whose plot unfolds on the island.

French literature has also been involved in other film and television productions shot in Lanzarote, inspired by the novels of Jules Verne (1828–1905). Fans of this iconic French adventure writer have seen several of his best-known stories brought to life on the island: The Mysterious Island (1972) and Journey to the Center of the Earth (1976). Lanzarote is a territory particularly suited to fantasy and science fiction films—the island’s main cinematic genre—so charismatic Verne characters such as Captain Nemo found their cinematic reflection here. In this case, legendary actor Omar Sharif explored the lands, coasts and caves of Lanzarote.

The next stop is Lanzarote’s great natural outdoor film set: Timanfaya National Park. This volcanic territory, which often seems closer to another planet than our own, attracts a million and a half visitors every year. Its magnetic appeal is also very strong for artists of all kinds, including filmmakers, with more than thirty films shot on the lava fields that consumed a quarter of the island between 1730 and 1736. It is worth remembering at this point that Lanzarote has been recognised by the UN as a Biosphere Reserve and UNESCO Global Geopark. True film lovers are encouraged to explore the specific Timanfaya film route, but here we will focus on French connections, which are also plentiful.

In Timanfaya we see Alain Delon, a true legend of French cinema, galloping elegantly in Zorro (1974). This national park also features scenes with two actresses naturalised as French citizens—Kristin Scott Thomas and Maria de Medeiros—although originally British and Portuguese, respectively. They are not the only examples: the great Max von Sydow, the renowned Swedish-born actor who also became a French citizen and was honoured by the French government with distinctions such as the Order of Arts and Letters and the Legion of Honour, also filmed in Lanzarote (My Friend the Doctor Grasler, 1989). Likewise, several scenes of The Escape from Paradise (1989), featuring Jacques Perrin—an actor who worked with nearly all major French and European directors of the second half of the 20th century—were shot in Timanfaya. Also filmed here was the Hollywood production Enemy Mine (1985), with music by Maurice Jarre, the prestigious Lyon-born film composer who won three Oscars among many other awards. Moving forward in time, French director Louis Leterrier, a specialist in action films, directed Clash of the Titans (2010), which also included sequences filmed in this national park and featured French actress Alexa Davalos.

To bring this route to a close, we propose a visit with a distinctly French flavour: La Geria, Lanzarote’s emblematic wine-growing region. This captivating landscape is the birthplace of a unique vine cultivation system that uses lapilli—a very small, porous volcanic ash—to make the most of the scarce moisture in the area. In the heart of La Geria, Road to Salina (1971) was filmed—a movie not widely known to the general public but highly appreciated by true film enthusiasts for several reasons: it was one of the last works starring cinema icon Rita Hayworth, and it later inspired Quentin Tarantino, who borrowed aesthetic and musical elements for Kill Bill. The film was directed by French filmmaker Georges Lautner.

In addition to tasting the emblematic volcanic Malvasía white wine in one of the many wineries in La Geria or elsewhere on the island, we encourage French visitors to try Lanzarote’s exquisite range of local cheeses, particularly goat’s cheese, as goats are very well adapted to the island’s arid environment.

French influence has historically been felt across many aspects of Lanzarote’s culture—from gastronomy and musical folklore to many other domains. For example, in Lanzarote the term jable is used to refer to fine white beach sand, a word derived from the French sable, meaning the same thing. Likewise, many common local surnames such as Perdomo or Betancort/Bethencourt are of French origin. These connections date back to the early period of conquest but continued over the following centuries. French researcher René Verneau was a pioneer in archaeological studies on the island, just as the first professional photography studio in Lanzarote was opened by French photographer Achille Heitz. In recent years, French films and productions featuring French talent have continued to be made on the island, while tourism from France has also steadily increased.