4.14.2006
6. Colombia: an unborn Film Industry
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In 2005 Colombia’s gross domestic product was 10 times lower than Spain’s, although the population was roughly the same (44 Million people). One of the more recent reasons, among others, for such difference is the 50 years old Civil War the country has endured since the 1950s. A usually corrupt establishment, reactionary and closed social cells, inept bureaucracies, unequal and racist social relationships, are some of the other reasons. Relationships with the hemispheric power have not helped either. The Film Industry Institution, the Colombian Cinema Apparatus, especially its production sector, lies among the millions of diverse victims that such chaos has caused.
It’s fair to say that Colombian Cinema does not exist. In spite of many efforts, the institution itself has not been allowed to emerge. As independent film director Luis Ospina said during our interview [L. Ospina, telephone interview, 9 September 2005] and elsewhere (Ospina, 2002), “there is no Cinema in Colombia. At it’s best, there are some films”. In spite of such present status, the first origin of those Colombian films, and of its exhibition and distribution sectors, was almost the same as it was in Spain. But at the same time, in that very first origin, the destiny of each industry, would already take different paths.
It is safe to say that the Distribution and Exhibition sectors have been able to exist in a healthy way. The fact that the production sector has never been born shows that for a country to have a national cinema, production of national content has to exist and constantly flow. Without national production, distribution and exhibition are just businesses at the service of other countries’ industries. Total Colombian film production, including feature films, documentaries and old news reels, amounts to around 400 pieces in more than one hundred years (excluding some of the works that have been completely lost). A relevant figure that, nevertheless, could have been much higher. According to current legislation in Colombian law, up to 2001 approximately 320 national films are registered as goods of cultural interest, covering the majority of existing pieces, except for a share of co-productions with other countries and not including many of the films, now lost, made during the first half of the 20th century (Proimagenes, 2005a, p. 29 - 36). Feature length films amount to around 200. Between 1987 and 2005 national production and co-production of feature films reached 62 titles, with the majority of them getting some kind of exhibition, but usually precarious. Shorts production reached 41 titles in the same period (Cinemateca Nacional de Colombia, 2003, p. 54 - 55).
The central issue in the present analysis is not the amount of Colombian films, or the absolute difference with Spanish productions, but the factors that still impede the production of more Colombian films and their access to Colombian and international audiences.
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¶ 9:15 PM In 2005 Colombia’s gross domestic product was 10 times lower than Spain’s, although the population was roughly the same (44 Million people). One of the more recent reasons, among others, for such difference is the 50 years old Civil War the country has endured since the 1950s. A usually corrupt establishment, reactionary and closed social cells, inept bureaucracies, unequal and racist social relationships, are some of the other reasons. Relationships with the hemispheric power have not helped either. The Film Industry Institution, the Colombian Cinema Apparatus, especially its production sector, lies among the millions of diverse victims that such chaos has caused.
It’s fair to say that Colombian Cinema does not exist. In spite of many efforts, the institution itself has not been allowed to emerge. As independent film director Luis Ospina said during our interview [L. Ospina, telephone interview, 9 September 2005] and elsewhere (Ospina, 2002), “there is no Cinema in Colombia. At it’s best, there are some films”. In spite of such present status, the first origin of those Colombian films, and of its exhibition and distribution sectors, was almost the same as it was in Spain. But at the same time, in that very first origin, the destiny of each industry, would already take different paths.
It is safe to say that the Distribution and Exhibition sectors have been able to exist in a healthy way. The fact that the production sector has never been born shows that for a country to have a national cinema, production of national content has to exist and constantly flow. Without national production, distribution and exhibition are just businesses at the service of other countries’ industries. Total Colombian film production, including feature films, documentaries and old news reels, amounts to around 400 pieces in more than one hundred years (excluding some of the works that have been completely lost). A relevant figure that, nevertheless, could have been much higher. According to current legislation in Colombian law, up to 2001 approximately 320 national films are registered as goods of cultural interest, covering the majority of existing pieces, except for a share of co-productions with other countries and not including many of the films, now lost, made during the first half of the 20th century (Proimagenes, 2005a, p. 29 - 36). Feature length films amount to around 200. Between 1987 and 2005 national production and co-production of feature films reached 62 titles, with the majority of them getting some kind of exhibition, but usually precarious. Shorts production reached 41 titles in the same period (Cinemateca Nacional de Colombia, 2003, p. 54 - 55).
The central issue in the present analysis is not the amount of Colombian films, or the absolute difference with Spanish productions, but the factors that still impede the production of more Colombian films and their access to Colombian and international audiences.
Follow to the Next Section
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