The Mixed Film Promotion Fund celebrated 23 years working as an articulator of the audiovisual sector, carrying out work ranging from the promotion of Colombian cinema for production, promotion, and preservation as a cultural heritage, to the promotion of the country as a setting for filming international productions. We appreciate all the congratulatory messages we have received in recent days.
Proimágenes en Movimento, today Proimágenes Colombia, was created on April 23, 1998 as a mixed, non-profit organization governed by private law, whose raison d'être has been the strengthening of Colombian audiovisual. The greatest strength of the entity has been the capacity to articulate public and private efforts in the design and implementation of ever-evolving public policies and support mechanisms that involve the entire value chain, so that audiovisual is an engine of cultural and economic development in the country.
This has been made possible thanks to the support of the partners that make up its board of directors where the Ministry of Culture and its Directorate of Audiovisual, Film and Interactive Media (formerly Directorate of Cinematography), the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies, the Ministry of Education, the Directorate of Taxes and National Customs -DIAN, the National University of Colombia, Cine Colombia, the Colombian Association of Film Distributors and the Colombian Film Heritage Foundation.
Its functions are to administer the Film Development Fund (FDC), following the guidelines of the National Council of Arts and Culture in Cinematography (CNACC), with the aim of providing resources to national productions and co-productions and representing Colombian cinema internationally. Also through the Colombian Film Commission, it works to promote the country as a stage for the realization of audiovisual projects and channels incentives to national and international productions with cash refunds from the Colombian Film Fund (FFC) and Audiovisual Investment Certificates (CINA), established in the Law 1556.
Thanks to this support for the production and distribution of national cinema, in Colombia we went from releasing 4 Colombian feature films in 1998 to premiere more than 40 Colombian films on average in the last five years, becoming “a Latin American example,” according to Argentine producer and director Vanessa Ragone. In addition to it are other international voices such as that of the Spanish producer based in Los Angeles, Pau Brunet, who adds, “I am such a fan of the enthusiasm and talent you have in Colombia. How you are building a necessary cinematographic memory. CONGRATULATIONS! And may it last for many more years! ”
In these 23 years many people have been able to live this boom directly or indirectly, in addition to the beneficiaries of the initiatives that have been made, there is “a team that works with passion and without which it would have been impossible to be where we are”, according to Claudia Triana de Vargas, director of the entity that today generates employment for more than 40 people for its operation. People like the new manager of Audiovisual Arts of Idertes and director of the Cinemateca de Bogota, Ricardo Cantor Bossa, who spoke with these words: “Congratulations on everything achieved in these 23 years hand in hand, with and for the audiovisual ecosystem of the country. I will remember and appreciate having always been part of this team in the first years of my professional life. I learned a lot. Also, having been close all these years, as beneficiary and jury of the FDC, and working from the BAM, the Ministry of Culture and now from the Cinemateca. The entire effort developed by Proimágenes and that has allowed the strengthening and development of cinematography and audiovisual works will remain in history.”
Many congratulations have been received for the tireless work that has been carried out; the Proimágenes Colombia team is grateful to all those who have contributed their work, talent and ideas over the past 23 years, as well as all those demonstrations that we fail to include in these paragraphs. It seems a long time, but it is not so much, there is a lot of work that is still ahead, and we will continue to learn how to do it better and better. We share three more greetings while we continue to work for the Colombian audiovisual industry.
“He who makes forgets, the one who sees remembers and the one who does learns. 23 years doing cinema in Colombia with Proimágenes and we continue to learn”, Felipe Aljure, film director, artistic director of the Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival -FICCI- and first Director of Cinematography at the Ministry of Culture.
“We celebrate its anniversary, because thanks to its management, the country has managed to produce several of its best documentary and fiction films and make Colombian film culture accessible in every corner inside and outside the country,” Jaime Tenorio, current Director of Audiovisual, Film and Interactive Media of the Ministry of Culture.
“Thank you for helping us make so many dreams come true! ”, Cristina Gallego, Colombian producer.
