Cartagena has the potential to become a regional center for audiovisual production. For decades, our city has been chosen as the location for countless productions, such as the well-remembered film “Queimada”, starring Marlon Brando (1969), “Love in the time of cholera”, with Javier Bardem (2007), recently “Proyecto Géminis “With Will Smith (2019), and Netflix series such as” Always a witch “(2019).
Colombia has national incentives for the industry, an attribute that invites us to consider adapting and generating our own local incentives, given the strengths of the territory that, rather than being an ideal location to shoot, has the potential to offer the necessary complementary services and productive chains.
At the national level, laws have been promoted that encourage filming in the country that, with human talent, infrastructure, geographic diversity and broad creative potential, constitute a strength for the industry and, in the same way, a potential to attract investment towards this sector, favoring its consolidation.
We have already had successful cases with companies such as Disney, Fox Telecolombia and MTV, among others, that have produced in our region, as well as the production of music videos such as Ricky Martin, Ricardo Montaner, among others, and commercials of international stature that, of indirectly promote the destination from the tourist and cultural.
In Cartagena, an audiovisual collective has been generated in the neighborhoods, such as the case of “Angeles de la Calle de El Pozón”, where young people transform their gang life and join projects that energize culture.
As a territory we are called to support the initiatives of the Film Commission, since it promotes the city as a film destination, facilitating the realization of audiovisual productions, generating connections between foreign producers and production services with local artistic and technical personnel. This cross-cutting activity strengthens the formalization of work activities, as well as generates new jobs. It is, without a doubt, a contribution to economic reactivation and revitalization.
We have some challenges such as regulations and agility in procedures and permits, strengthening of human talent and promotion, but we also have advantages from the tourism, entertainment, gastronomic and cultural sectors to promote these spaces and get started towards to become a film district in its entirety.
* Executive Director Invest In Cartagena.
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