Hollywood Lured to Argentina by Cost, Quality and Nightlife

Over 80 films are made in Argentina each year, most local productions, but now more and more Hollywood studios are lured to Argentina based on costs that can be 25% to 60% lower than similar costs in the US and the high quality of film technicians.

Studio execs “want to know what is going on in Argentina, and how they can make films here,” says Ana Aizenberg, head of the Buenos Aires Film Commission, in a recent Variety article.

Argentina has more than 100 years of film history and in the 30s and 40s was the Hollywood of Latin America. Buenos Aires has many studios and sound stages, and the latest technology.  Argentina has the largest concentration of studios in Latin America, and regularly produces content for export, such as “Wipe-Out” for over 30 countries and “Desperate Housewives” and “High School Musical” for the Latin American Markets.

Argentina also offers a wide variety of landscapes, from grasslands, to desserts to beaches, and a variety of faces: most Argentines are of European descent, and new waves of immigration from China, Japan, Senegal and Russia have made the streets even more diverse.

Technicians are famed for their resourcefulness, honed after many cycles of economic crisis. They are used to resolving problems quickly with little budget, and treat film as an art form.

In the past few years, large budget Hollywood films such as Chris Nahon’s “Blood: The Last Vampire,” James Huth’s “Lucky Luke” and Roland Joffe’s “There Be Dragons” have been filmed in Argentina (with Buenos Aires often filling in for Europe).

An example of possible cost savings can be found with the co-production between Argentina’s Pampa Films and Spain’s Filmax of the “El raton Perez” (The Hair Tooth Fairy) franchise.

The first cost e1.7 million ($2.2 million US Dollars) to make in Argentina, less than half the $5 million to $6.3 million it would have cost in Europe, says Pampa’s Juan Pablo Buscarini, who also directed the family pic.

The model is best for adventure and family movies, he said in a recent variety article. “All of the family films that have gone to New Zealand could have been done in Argentina.”

The cost savings are more notable the higher the quality: a low-budget for Hollywood can be turned into a high-budget film in Argentina.

The other draw are the charming cafes, good restaurants and pulsating night life. Where else can you get a great steak for 10 bucks and enjoy a fine bottle of wine for 15, and flirt with some of the most beautiful people on earth?

OSCAR Winning Producer of “Secret of their Eyes” Reveals Secrets of Argentina Movie Production

Oscar Winning Producer Vanessa Ragone

We all love a little glamour (and let’s face it, often filmmaking is anything but glamorous) and the talk offered by Vanessa Ragone, had a bit of glamour when she unveiled the Oscar she won for producing “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” (The Secret of Their Eyes). For a moment, all of us gathered yesterday in the Ministry of Economy felt like we were on the red carpet and whipped out our cell phones for a quick photo-op.

Vanessa pointed out a lot of differences between producing in Argentina and in Hollywood.

1) In Argentina, the director, not the producer or production company, has the right to final cut.

2) No completion bonds are available in Argentina (this is insurance that guarantees that the film will be completed no matter what or the insurance company will pay investors, in the case of the star dropping dead half way though the shoot, for example. Also, if the director does not meet the schedule, the insurance company can replace him or her and become the owner of the film). In Spanish this is called “seguro de buen fin”.

3) Ironically, it is much easier to sell Argentine films to the US and Europe than other Latin American Countries.

4) Banks won’t make loans to movies in Argentina–not one Bank wanted to participate in “The Secret of their Eyes”, even with a director, Campanella, who normally has huge box office success in Argentina and renowned actors like Franchella and Darin. Most of the financing comes from the INCAA (Argentine Film Board which is a government entity funded by tax on movie tickets), pre-sales to foreign distributors and co-productions.

Vanessa then outlined what made the Secret of their Eyes one of the biggest commercial successes in Argentina in 2009 (more than one million people saw the movie).

1) Campanella himself picked the date–the long weekend after the winter school vacation, when parents would be tired of watching children’s movies.

2) A partnership with TELEFE, one of the largest television stations, which gave them free television spots.

3) Releasing on 90 screens during the first week, unheard of for an Argentine movie.

4) A strong anti-pirated dvd campaign, involving police raids.

5) Releasing the dvd in all points of sale at the same time, and for the low price of 30 pesos (normally dvds cost 70 pesos, which is very high for the public).

Overall, the talk made me feel very hopeful about the future of Argentine cinema and happy to meet a woman who rose from a poor country family to become one of the most successful movie producers in the country. In addition, government officials that were present mentioned new economic initiatives aimed at the audiovisual industry: low interest loans and a special film studio to be built outside of the city. This industry contributes over 3% of the GDP and is growing fast.

Slum Girl Soccer: INCAA Grant Won!

Slum Girl Soccer (Goles y Metas) has just been declared “of interest” by the INCAA, the Argentine Film Board. This will enable myself and my co-director/producer Gabriel Balanovsky to keep filming. We now have more than half of the financing in place, thanks to the INCAA. Now with this official stamp of approval, we are going to do a full press to look for sponsors who want to be associated with a documentary that tells the story of a group of young girls who use soccer (football) to learn how to go from victims to champions.

We are going to make a feature length film in HD that is broadcast ready that uses colorful images, music and moving stories to take viewers to a world that few dare to enter: the Villa 31, one of Buenos Aires´s largest and oldest shantytowns.

To see our latest cut of our work in progress:

http://www.santelmoproductions.com/en/#/portfolio/goals_for_girls

The Hooker & the Tranvestite: Short Film Now Published on Filmaka

Our latest short film was filmed in less than 6 hours with only 5 days of pre-production and a budget of less than $400 pesos (that´s less than 120 dollars!). “The Hooker & the Transvestite” is about a broke young woman who tries to prostitute herself in the transvestite red-light district. Comedy ensues.

I´m not going to embed the video here because I want you to go to the site, watch it, and if you like it, become a member of filmaka and vote. Filmaka is an innovative new portal for young filmmakers to show their work and win funding for future films.  This short film was entered into the contest under the theme “Hard Times”.

http://www.filmaka.com/film.php?film_id=1af6a2ba-862f-102c-ad35-00301b4506f4

Argentina Struggles to Ask: Are too Many Movies Made?

Argentina produces more than 60 films annually that are commercially released (the number of super independent productions that don´t make it into cinemas is impossible to calculate, but let´s say, at least 100 more).  Hollywood releases about twice that. In other words, a country with about 10% the population of the US manages to make half the number of films of the largest superpower in the world.

Is this a cause for celebration or a cause for concern?

Review: Seminar on Obtaining Government funding for Documentaries and Movies in Argentina

Yesterday, Gabriel Balanovsky, co-founder of San Telmo Productions, attended a seminar hosted by “Haciendo Cine” –a magazine devoted to helping filmmakers in Argentina–about the new funding guidelines set by the INCAA, the national film board. The seminar was given by renowned producers Verónica Cura and Hugo Castro Fau and gave a glimpse of the exciting new opportunities open to Argentine filmmakers (and their international co-producers).

NEW YORK TIMES: San Luis Province, new hot spot for Filming In Argentina

PROVINCE OF SAN LUIS

 

San Luis government’s financing of films creates opportunities for projects that highlight the province’s stunning attributes.

CENTRAL ARGENTINE PROVINCE DRAWS IN THE FILM CROWD WITH ATTRACTIVE INCENTIVE PACKAGES

Several years ago the provincial administration of San Luis embarked on a bold and innovative plan to bring Hollywood to Argentina by offering production companies attractive incentive packages. The plan to make the province a prime South American film destination eventually evolved into law and as of January this year San Luis has co-produced or helped to finance 23 feature films, including director Tristan Bauer’s “Enlightened by Fire”, the Argentine film on the Falklands war that won this year’s Goya Prize for the best Spanish-language foreign film.

The wording of the new law, which got the nod from both of the province’s legislative chambers in 2004, states that the objective is to spur the development of tourism, generate employment and strengthen cultural development at both the local and regional levels. And to show that the province is willing to put its money where its mouth is, San Luis also recently opened a US$2.2 million studio.

Writing proposals to NOT play the waiting game

Most people think that filmakers spend long hours filming followed by long hours at the editing bay followed by long hours at swank film festivals, yelling “have your people call my people.” The truth is that most spend long periods of time looking for funding, and I´m no different. I´ve sold short docs to TV networks that took me three days to film and a week to edit, but between pitching and contracts and rewrites, took 6 months to get done. Right now I am working with my production company, San Telmo Productions, on preparing various film proposals for documentaries. Each proprosal involves:

National Film Board Changes Funding Laws

The national film board, the INCAA (Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales) has just released new funding guidelines that will govern which fiction and documentary projects will be made in Argentina.

For the first time, producers can apply for funds for already produced movies. Presently, a lot of movies are made with very small budgets, and are then presented to the INCAA for funding and the producers claim that the movies haven´t been made yet. This will make the process more honest. The amount that one picture can receive will increase to 2.300.000 pesos (as of Dec 2008, about 666k at 1 peso to 3.45 USD) and films no longer have to be filmed in 35mm to qualify.

INCAA will continue to fund documentaries made digitally, acquiring the broadcast rights in Argentina and letting the producers profit from sales abroad–a great business model for people considering investing in Argentine-made docs.

Most movies made in Argentina receive government funds and are also exhibited in government run movie theaters. These funds are raised by a tax on movie tickets and television stations (not general taxes). Hollywood and Bollywood in India are the only two film centers in the world that exist without government funding.

Currently, INCAA funds about 70 motion pictures annually and the hope is that this law will result in less productions but in better funded ones.

For more info, in Spanish go to:

http://www.lanacion .com.ar/nota. asp?nota_ id=1077402

and the official INCAA site:

http://www.incaa.gov.ar/