#BTColumn – Colombian film: A case study

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by Jade Gibbons

The term ‘film’ in this article will be used to encompass all audio-visual material including but not limited to feature films, short films, and documentaries. Cinema first came to Colombia in 1897 in the form of projection equipment, and in the space of two years it spread from the coastal regions to the capital Bogota. This was considered a quite rapid spread given the size of the country and the novelty of the equipment. There was great hope and enthusiasm for the development of film in Colombia. Unfortunately, this development was impeded by the Guerra de los Mil Días.

The Colombian film industry did not start to grow until the 1910s. The first attempt at making a national cinema was the creation of La Sociedad de la Industria Cinematografica del Latinoamericano in 1913. In that same year, the first documentary film “Diario Colombiano” by Franciso Di Domenico was made. The first feature film, “El Drama del Quince de Octubre” based on the battle of Boyaca, was made in 1915 by the Di Domenico brothers. The themes of early Colombian films were nature, folklore, and nationalism. However, lack of investments, competition from American, Mexican and Argentine films, lack of distribution and out-of-date technology meant that over the next 60 years the growth and development of the Colombian film industry stagnated.

In the 1970s, the government tried to promote the development of the industry through legislative encouragement. Cinemas and other distributors would get tax deductions for showing Colombian short films. This caused Colombian cinema to assume two forms: low budget cinema with its independent documentaries of political and social content and the ‘surcharge’ short. The 1970s also saw the birth of ‘pornomiseria’ cinema, which was a collection of films with a high poverty content that distorted the social environment of Colombia. In 1979, La Compania de Fomento Cinematografico (FOCINE) was established as a way of better funding and therefore developing film in Colombia. Although it was somewhat successful in encouraging growth, it closed in 1993 due to corruption.

In 2003, el ley de cine was passed. Also known as ley 814, its aim was to standardise help for local productions. El ley de cine is meant for film creation as a whole, that is, production, co-production, filmmaking of both short and feature films, documentaries and all possible branches concerned. It also includes incentive policies to give Colombian productions a place in local cinemas. El Fondo para el desarrollo cinematográfica (FDC) is the fund created by the Colombian Ministry of Culture to provide funding for national cinema. It is managed by el Consejo Nacional de las Artes y de la Cultura en Cinematografica (CNACC) and Proimagenes Colombia.

There are four major commercial cinema chains in Colombia: 1) Cine Colombia, 2) Cinemark, 3) Procinal and 4) Royal Films. There are also some independent cinemas like Cinemateca de Bogotá and Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá. From the inception of film in Colombia, the country established a vast and adequate distribution network for films. However, this network benefits foreign films more than local films. This is because Colombian viewers prefer American and other foreign films over Colombian films.

In 2006, local Colombian cinema got 2.8 million viewers out of the 20.3 million total cinema viewers for the year, just 13.88 per cent. So why is this? Is it because cinemas don’t show Colombian films for a long enough period for them to receive more viewership? Due to legislation, most Colombian films run for two to four weeks. So the answer is no. Why is it then that Colombians don’t watch Colombian films? Colombian filmmaker Lisandro Duque says that ‘to deprive a country of cinema is like ordering by decree the withdrawal of mirrors from all bathrooms and streets so that nobody can see their own reflection. The ‘I think, therefore I exist’ becomes the ‘I don’t see myself, therefore I am nobody.’

The problem lies in the type of films and number of films produced. In 2008, “Paraiso Travel” by Simon Brand placed second in most Colombian box office sales rivalling films like “The Dark Knight” and “Kung-Fu Panda”. What made this film different from other films before it? It told the story of everyday Colombians. It told the story in a Colombian way. In essence, it held up a mirror to the Colombian viewers and because of this, they were willing to patronise it.

Jade Gibbons is an arts and business graduate with a keen interest in social issues and film-making.