The Madrid regional government has announced a €1.5 million grant to co-finance Woody Allen’s upcoming film, his 51st feature, provisionally titled WASP 2026. Principal photography is scheduled to begin in the city on 5 October 2026, with the total production budget set at around $14 million.
The funding comes with specific contractual conditions. The film’s final title must include the word “Madrid.” Full disbursement of the grant is contingent on the film premiering at an international festival. And Madrid city council has stated that at least 15% of scenes must be shot on exterior locations clearly recognisable as the Spanish capital, capturing its cultural, architectural and historical character.
The announcement has drawn criticism in some quarters over the use of public funds to back a filmmaker who has faced longstanding personal controversies. Allen is 90. The Madrid conservative regional government defended the decision on economic and tourism grounds, arguing that global exposure for the city and employment generated for local cast and crew during the shoot would far exceed the value of the grant itself.
Spain has featured in Allen’s work before. Vicky Cristina Barcelona, shot in 2008, became one of his most commercially successful films internationally. In 2020, he filmed Rifkin’s Festival in the Basque city of San Sebastián. His most recent completed work, the French-language Coup de Chance, was released in 2023 to generally positive critical notices.
