4.14.2006
4.3. The Evidence
4.3.1. The Interviews
The film sector, when focused on its interaction with governments, can be seen as constituted by four main types of actors, to be found in every National Film Industry, and forming a continuum from which different initiatives for the sector are developed. These actors can be seen, depending on the point of view, either as strategic agents for the industry or as gatekeepers. These types of sector agents are:
- Companies/Individuals working in the Film sector
- Film Professionals Associations
- National Film Industry Centers Bureaucracies
- Ministry Level Officers/Councils/Regulators
Additionally, at the level of the companies and industry professionals there are the sequential industry value chain sub-sectors of Production – Distribution – Exhibition and, of course, the Audience at the consumption end.
In order to improve the conditions of a National Film Industry these agents interact, according to their interests, in multiple directions, within the chain of industry sub-sectors, or across the government-industry continuum. Besides the usual business sequence of the industry the government-industry interaction involves policy demands, government programs, professional exchanges, festivals, international contacts, new film laws, market regulations, film grants, etc.
Interviewing these agents is key to expand the knowledge of the “film industry situation”, especially in Colombia where there is just a small amount of research made about the industry. The results will effectively amplify the knowledge on the Colombian film sector beyond previous studies or primary documents and laws.
In order to gather their views about the current status and challenges of the industry a focused interview method will be used. This method relies on open-ended interviews, guided in a conversational manner and following the line of inquiry that links the research questions of the study.
According to this the “opened” questions to be used – that will be fined tuned after the review of studies and primary printed information on the sectors – will be focused on finding how the sector agents argue about the state intervention policies and sector actions, how do they qualify those instruments and actions, how they acknowledge the sector’s problems and successes, and how do they project their interactions with other actors of the sector.
The original plan was to make nine (9) interviews per country/case. In the case of the “professionals” of the distribution sector the objective is to interview an official of one of the “majors” and an official from and independent distribution company.
These agents and their interactions are strategic elements of the production/delivery side of the Film Sector. From the consumption side there is the audience. However, this study is focused on the production side struggle to deliver more National Films to domestic and international audiences.
Agents in Colombia were enthusiastic about answering questions and expressing their opinions. Spanish agents were not so interested in giving interviews in spite of diverse attempts in diverse places. Spain, of course, as a film market has been studied from different angles and information about it is available. Access was gained only to one key Spanish Producer.
The interviews were carried out via telephone between September 2005 and March 2006.
The Spanish interviewee:
- Companies/Individuals working in the Film sector:
Jose Vicuña – Producer. Founder of production company IMPALA S.A. and one of the licensees behind the Ciudad de la Luz (City of Light) project (a Hollywood type production facility right on the Mediterranean).
The final Colombian interviewees were:
- Companies/Individuals working in the Film sector:
Felipe Aljure - Director
Sergio Cabrera – Director
Víctor Gaviria – Director
Pedro Sosnitzky – Cinematographer / Advertising Director-Producer
Ciro Guerra – Director
Federico Mejía – Independent Distributor
Oscar Mayungo – Exhibitor
Carlos Llano – Distributor / Exhibitor
Mauricio Lurens – Critic
Luis Ospina – Director
- Film Professionals Associations
Fernán García – Representative of the Majors’ “Colombian Association of Ditributors of Cinematographic Movies” (ACDPC)
- National Film Industry Centers
Claudia Triana – Mixed Fund for Cinema Promotion (Proimagenes en Movimiento)
- Government Level Officers/Councils/Regulators
David Melo – Head of the Cinema Office at Ministry of Culture
Claudia Bautista – Filmmaker and Advisor for Public TV at Ministry of Culture
Additionally, one off-the-record source was interviewed about current structures in the Latin-American film marketplace. This person asked to remain anonymous.
As I advanced through the research the development difference between the two industries became more and more evident. Although it was not unexpected it made me realize that the study was much more about how to improve the industry conditions in Colombia, than about the current tribulations of the Spanish Cinema. The answers to the research questions should throw light about the necessary set of policies to expand the Colombian film industry with the Spanish film sector as a key reference point.
.
A “Two-Case” Case Study Design offers the possibility of obtaining similar analytic conclusions (literal replication) from cases with different contexts – like the chosen ones – but studied through the same units of analysis. Such a result would give more strength to the study’s conclusions and expand the external validity of the research. On the other hand if the contrasting contexts and collected evidence can explain a set of contrasting final results predicted by the theories used (theoretical replication), such a result would also expand the external generalizability of the study. In this sense a “Two-Case” Case Study Design offers a good combination of strengthened external validity, more powerful conclusions, and research resources economy (Yin, 2003: 53-54).
The evidence/data to be collected will cover the current structure in each National Film Industry, the policy and laws implemented to support and spur the industry, the actions implemented by film industry and government agents, and the agents’ perceptions about the past, present and future of the film sector in the case of Colombia.
The necessary information for the analysis of both cases (structure, policy, agents’ arguments and actions) was gathered from primary and secondary printed sources:
- Primary Sources:
Official government records: present legislation and documents
Official documents from film industry associations
Interviews with film industry and Government agents related to film
- Secondary Sources:
Historical studies about Spanish and Colombian Cinema
Research Reports on Film Industry trends (Colombia, Spain, and International)
Film Industry data
Country data (Colombia and Spain)
A “Two-Case” Case Study Design offers the possibility of obtaining similar analytic conclusions (literal replication) from cases with different contexts – like the chosen ones – but studied through the same units of analysis. Such a result would give more strength to the study’s conclusions and expand the external validity of the research. On the other hand if the contrasting contexts and collected evidence can explain a set of contrasting final results predicted by the theories used (theoretical replication), such a result would also expand the external generalizability of the study. In this sense a “Two-Case” Case Study Design offers a good combination of strengthened external validity, more powerful conclusions, and research resources economy (Yin, 2003: 53-54).
The evidence/data to be collected will cover the current structure in each National Film Industry, the policy and laws implemented to support and spur the industry, the actions implemented by film industry and government agents, and the agents’ perceptions about the past, present and future of the film sector in the case of Colombia.
The necessary information for the analysis of both cases (structure, policy, agents’ arguments and actions) was gathered from primary and secondary printed sources:
- Primary Sources:
Official government records: present legislation and documents
Official documents from film industry associations
Interviews with film industry and Government agents related to film
- Secondary Sources:
Historical studies about Spanish and Colombian Cinema
Research Reports on Film Industry trends (Colombia, Spain, and International)
Film Industry data
Country data (Colombia and Spain)
4.3.1. The Interviews
The film sector, when focused on its interaction with governments, can be seen as constituted by four main types of actors, to be found in every National Film Industry, and forming a continuum from which different initiatives for the sector are developed. These actors can be seen, depending on the point of view, either as strategic agents for the industry or as gatekeepers. These types of sector agents are:
- Companies/Individuals working in the Film sector
- Film Professionals Associations
- National Film Industry Centers Bureaucracies
- Ministry Level Officers/Councils/Regulators
Additionally, at the level of the companies and industry professionals there are the sequential industry value chain sub-sectors of Production – Distribution – Exhibition and, of course, the Audience at the consumption end.
In order to improve the conditions of a National Film Industry these agents interact, according to their interests, in multiple directions, within the chain of industry sub-sectors, or across the government-industry continuum. Besides the usual business sequence of the industry the government-industry interaction involves policy demands, government programs, professional exchanges, festivals, international contacts, new film laws, market regulations, film grants, etc.
Interviewing these agents is key to expand the knowledge of the “film industry situation”, especially in Colombia where there is just a small amount of research made about the industry. The results will effectively amplify the knowledge on the Colombian film sector beyond previous studies or primary documents and laws.
In order to gather their views about the current status and challenges of the industry a focused interview method will be used. This method relies on open-ended interviews, guided in a conversational manner and following the line of inquiry that links the research questions of the study.
According to this the “opened” questions to be used – that will be fined tuned after the review of studies and primary printed information on the sectors – will be focused on finding how the sector agents argue about the state intervention policies and sector actions, how do they qualify those instruments and actions, how they acknowledge the sector’s problems and successes, and how do they project their interactions with other actors of the sector.
The original plan was to make nine (9) interviews per country/case. In the case of the “professionals” of the distribution sector the objective is to interview an official of one of the “majors” and an official from and independent distribution company.
These agents and their interactions are strategic elements of the production/delivery side of the Film Sector. From the consumption side there is the audience. However, this study is focused on the production side struggle to deliver more National Films to domestic and international audiences.
Agents in Colombia were enthusiastic about answering questions and expressing their opinions. Spanish agents were not so interested in giving interviews in spite of diverse attempts in diverse places. Spain, of course, as a film market has been studied from different angles and information about it is available. Access was gained only to one key Spanish Producer.
The interviews were carried out via telephone between September 2005 and March 2006.
The Spanish interviewee:
- Companies/Individuals working in the Film sector:
Jose Vicuña – Producer. Founder of production company IMPALA S.A. and one of the licensees behind the Ciudad de la Luz (City of Light) project (a Hollywood type production facility right on the Mediterranean).
The final Colombian interviewees were:
- Companies/Individuals working in the Film sector:
Felipe Aljure - Director
Sergio Cabrera – Director
Víctor Gaviria – Director
Pedro Sosnitzky – Cinematographer / Advertising Director-Producer
Ciro Guerra – Director
Federico Mejía – Independent Distributor
Oscar Mayungo – Exhibitor
Carlos Llano – Distributor / Exhibitor
Mauricio Lurens – Critic
Luis Ospina – Director
- Film Professionals Associations
Fernán García – Representative of the Majors’ “Colombian Association of Ditributors of Cinematographic Movies” (ACDPC)
- National Film Industry Centers
Claudia Triana – Mixed Fund for Cinema Promotion (Proimagenes en Movimiento)
- Government Level Officers/Councils/Regulators
David Melo – Head of the Cinema Office at Ministry of Culture
Claudia Bautista – Filmmaker and Advisor for Public TV at Ministry of Culture
Additionally, one off-the-record source was interviewed about current structures in the Latin-American film marketplace. This person asked to remain anonymous.
As I advanced through the research the development difference between the two industries became more and more evident. Although it was not unexpected it made me realize that the study was much more about how to improve the industry conditions in Colombia, than about the current tribulations of the Spanish Cinema. The answers to the research questions should throw light about the necessary set of policies to expand the Colombian film industry with the Spanish film sector as a key reference point.
.
¶ 9:20 PM
