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The Student Recreation Centre has been turned into an oncology ward; the Nexus is the façade of the Joaquín Sorolla hospital; the ETSIADI is the emergency room entrance, and its lobby is a hospital waiting room. You may have noticed that there have been more ambulances on campus in the last few days. Netflix is filming the second season of the series Respira, which is set in Valencia, and the campus has been one of the main locations. In four weeks, they will have filmed all the exteriors for the second season: eight episodes that will be broadcast in four months, with no release date yet.

'The decision to film in Valencia was Netflix's due to the need to decentralise because Madrid is saturated with filming. We wanted it to be a hospital in a big city, and Valencia won because there hadn't been a recent series filmed here,' explains Diego Betancor, one of the three executive producers of the series, together with the creator of the series, Carlos Montero, and Carlos Ruano, who is also a screenwriter.

Of course, 'the light, the sea, also weighed in. We wanted to open up, to let the series breathe,' he explains. It is also valued that the city is 'very well connected by sustainable means of transport,' which the streaming platform values positively.

They are delighted with the Vera campus: 'Here we saw that the universe was not going to run out on us, we continue to invent things, and we continue to find where to do them. Coming here is a breath of fresh air. We find it very exotic and carefree', adds Betancor.

The Student Recreation Centre, as well as housing a set for Respira, was also the technical and operational base for the series and housed the production office, the canteen, and the make-up and wardrobe departments.

Good availability from the UPV

Betancor praises the relationship with the UPV and the good availability. 'We understand that filming is a disruption to university life'. To sweeten the inconvenience, the students were offered hot chocolate. It has been necessary to relocate the canteen of the Student Recreation Centre but, in return, there have been numerous selfies with the actors and actresses.

The press was invited to the set of the series, and we could see the filming of a sequence directed by Abril Zamora, also an actress in the role of Neus. She, David Pinillos and Marta Font share the direction of the eight episodes of this second season of the series created by Carlos Montero.

'I'm amazed by this university,' says Manu Ríos

The actor Manu Ríos, Biel in Respira, says of the UPV that, 'It's impressive; I'm amazed by this university, studying here must be wonderful, there are super spacious areas, you can play sports outdoors. It's very nice to be filming here', besides the Valencian temperature being much warmer than Madrid in winter. Ríos has family in Valencia and has spent summers here, 'you feel very comfortable in this city'.

He says Biel is finding his voice a bit more and learning to respect his limits. He is also working with people he admires a lot, and, in the end, there is an influence; he lets himself go and ends up doing things with which he may not entirely agree.' He says that the intrigue and tension of the first season are being maintained and even increased.

When this shoot is finished, he will start work on a film produced by the Javis and directed by Fernando González Molina. It is an adaptation of Mi querida señorita with a script by Alana Portero. 'I'm really excited'.

Actress Blanca Martínez Rodrigo is grateful to be 'getting off the set and coming here and getting a bit of sun. Leaving work and going for a walk on the beach is a luxury'. In this second season, "my character gains even more power in the emergency room because she is an emergency warrior and is the one who runs the show. I am very happy with the story they have written for me". And she looks to the future pending the premiere of Mariliendre, "my first leading role on Atresplayer", she explains proudly. It is a musical comedy created by Javier Ferreiro.

Good atmosphere

Diego Betancor, Manu Ríos and Blanca Martínez all highlight the good atmosphere on set. According to Blanca Martínez, it is like 'going to summer camp and meeting up again a year later. There is a very cool atmosphere, everyone gets on, which is also reflected in the result of the recording'.

Najwa Nimri and Pablo Alborán, a new addition and the singer's acting debut in this second season, have also starred in scenes at the UPV. La Patacona, Ruzafa, el Perelló and Jávea are the exteriors that complete the filming in the Valencian Community. The indoor scenes are scheduled to be finished in April.

Coincidentally, a large part of the recording team is Valencian. After filming the first season, some crew members were hired as reinforcements in Valencia and stayed on to work permanently in Madrid.

In its first season, Breathe became Netflix's most-watched series in Spain since its premiere, topping the Top 10 most-watched series for several weeks. In addition, during the first week of its release, it was in the global Top 10 non-English speaking series.

Three film campuses

The UPV, through the Communication Area, is part of the Valencia Film Office that supports the audiovisual industry. One person manages requests to film at any of the facilities on the university's three campuses.

The campuses are pedestrianised and are equipped with magnificent facilities (athletics tracks, climbing wall, trinquete...). The Vera campus is almost 2 km from end to end. The Alcoy campus combines history, nature and culture. And the Gandia campus has 300 days of sunshine a year and is located right on the beach. If you have an audiovisual project and want to shoot at the UPV, send us an email at comunicacion@upv.es

Carmen Revillo Rubio/ UPV Comunication Area (ACOM)