Audiovisual production in Colombia is booming.  The Colombian television industry successfully exports programs - especially soap operas - to a number of continents and is now a constant source of programming for the Latin US market.  The country’s advertising industry has taken solid root over the past few decades and in past years several Colombian production houses specializing in production of spots on Colombian locations have begun to produce for international clients whose spots air in many different countries.  Film is undergoing a promising awakening; many Colombian feature films and documentaries compete annually at film festivals throughout the Americas and Europe.

All this activity is supported by courses of study at universities, several of which, such as advertising programs, have been around for decades.  Film studies have become particularly popular at traditional universities and new schools and academic centers around the country.  Young people are particularly interested, constantly producing short films, videos, and video-art on all kinds of formats including one-minute films and music videos.

The Colombian television industry is one of Latin America’s most developed and professional.

Colombia has exported more than thirty television productions over the past decade, mainly soap operas, to over eighty countries around the world including “Betty la Fea” (“Ugly Betty”), one of the biggest hits on international channels, “Sin tetas no hay paraíso” (“Without Tits There Is No Paradise”), “Café con aroma de mujer” (“Coffee with a Woman’s Scent”) and many others.

There are currently two private TV channels in Colombia, two public channels and one mixed channel, one local private channel in Bogotá, 50 subscription television concessionaries, eight regional channels, and over 40 not-for-profit channels (including 7 university stations) that cover all the regions.  Colombia is currently in the process of implementing the European digital land television standard.

Several international companies, including Fox International, are currently producing projects in Colombia.  Fox has its own studios in Bogotá where they produce internationally-broadcast series such as “Mental” and in 2009 Disney and Sony are producing series in Bogotá.

Colombia is home to highly qualified producers, directors, actors, art directors, and post-production professionals – as good as the world’s best talent in areas such as television series and soaps, reality shows, documentaries, cultural and children’s programming, animated series, etc.  Colombia’s private channels produce programming that is broadcast internationally.

The world’s largest advertising agencies including McCann Erickson, Leo Burnett, J. Walter Thomson and others have operated in Colombia for over 30 years.  More than thirty local agencies produce for national and international clients.

Approximately twenty production and pre-production advertising companies operate in Colombia – some of them specializing in production for international brands and agencies.

An average of thirty spots is produced for foreign clients every year and the market has grown at a rate of 80% every year since 2005.  The following companies recently produced spots in Colombia: Visa, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Frito Lay, Nestle, Sneakers, Budweiser, Amstel, and many others.

Rental companies specializing in state-of-the-art equipment and technology offer production and post-production services for commercials.

Several production companies work in association with international producers from the US, Mexico and Argentina.

The advertising market in Colombia generates approximately USD 3 billion annually. 

Colombia boasts highly-qualified advertising talent and production professionals who compete on the same level with those in other countries.

Colombia has been producing films since 1915 and the country’s first feature film “María” premiered in 1922.

In the past five years somewhere around fifty Colombian films have premiered, many winning awards and recognition at festivals around the world.  Victor Gaviria’s “La vendedora de rosas” (“The Rose Seller”) was part of the official selection at France’s Cannes Festival and the Toronto and Mar de Plata Film Festivals in 1998; “Perro come perro” (“Dog Eat Dog”) was selected for the Sundance and Guadalajara Festivals in 2008, to name just a few.

Five fiction films premiered in 2003, but film production really took off after the Colombian Film Law took effect and in 2008 Colombia produced 13 feature films.  There are currently about thirty productions in the development, production and post-production stages and many projects in co-production with other countries, several through financing with Ibermedia, a program whereby technical and financial assistance designed to promote project development of co-productions with independent Iberoamerican producers is provided to contest winners in member countries.

Colombian features enjoy their own national market and compete successfully with international productions, especially those produced in North America.  Of all the films screened in Colombia in 2008, thirteen were national productions accounting for 10% of the market.

Several local production companies remain independent or co-produce with their international homologues.

Three institutions are responsible for promoting film production in Colombia: the Ministry of Culture’s Film Office, Proimágenes en Movimiento, and the National Council for the Cinematographic Arts and Culture (CNACC).

The Colombian Film Law offers a series of fiscal stimuli to investors in and donors to film production and co-production, including a 125% tax deduction on any investment or donation. The Film Development Fund also provides financial incentives to contest winners for film-related processes, including Colombian co-productions with other countries; these last incentives do not require repayment.

There is a bourgeoning documentary movement in Colombia.  Year after year filmmakers produce an average of twenty documentaries screened on national and international documentary circuits.

Colombia possesses the technical infrastructure and the qualified human talent needed to produce feature films, and some companies offer specialized equipment rentals.

There are close to forty companies dedicated to animation with considerable international projection, and large foreign companies such as Nelvana and Pipeline Studios have come to Colombia to offer training programs and refresher courses that generate content on a par with the highest standards for creativity, productivity and competitivity.

The Vice Presidency of the Republic, the Ministry of Culture, the National Training Service (SENA), the Colombian Film Commission, and the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, with the participation of businessmen in the field are currently working together to develop strategies to consolidate this industry in Colombia.

The LOOP Festival (Latin American Animation and Video Games Festival) has taken place annually since 2003 and is designed to promote and honor the work of animators from Colombia and other Latin American countries.