Filming in Argentina is the official blog of San Telmo Productions, one of Argentina’s most reliable publicity, film, video & TV production companies, US/UK/Argentine owned and operated. When they’re not offering complete services to demanding international clients, they’re filming movies. And when they aren’t filming, editing or writing scripts, they blog here (but don’t worry, they actually get away from the office every once in a while and go to the movies or even spend a few hours in nature).
Directors of San Telmo Productions, Ginger Gentile and Gabriel Balanovsky
Bilingual and bicultural, co-director Ginger Gentile hails from New York City and moved to Argentina in 2002, and co-director Gabriel Balanovsky is Argentine, born and raised (but with two years in London under his belt). Both Ginger and Gabriel are active in the local film industry, each having worked on award-winning feature films in addition to creating custom content for local and international businesses, TV channels such as Current TV and Independent Film Channel, Pottery Barn, History Channel, and investigating/filming documentaries. San Telmo Productions is especially proud of Ginger and Gabriel having won Filmaka´s grand prize for “The Hooker and the Transvestite” judged by Wim Wenders, Werner Herzog, Paul Schrader and other Hollywood A-listers. This short is being turned into a feature film in English and Spanish by the creative duo, who are also currently filming the documentary “Goals for Girls” about slum girls who fight for their right to play soccer.
They have decided to get the word out about the advantages of filming in Argentina– Argentina has all the infrastructure of Hollywood but the prices of Bollywood. Documentary ideas can range from artists, gaucho culture, tango, wine, polo, to disadvantaged youth, police corruption and social unrest. Fiction films can benefit from a wide range of scenery (Andes mountains, jungles, the steaming streets of Buenos Aires) and first rate technicians.
The posts are written by Ginger Gentile, normally when she is waiting for her Avid editing station to render, and since 2010 she has been joined by the talented bloggers below.
To contact Ginger or Gabriel, email at info@santelmoproductions.com or Skype: santelmoproductions
CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER BENJAMIN HARGUINDEY
Hailing from Mar del Plata, Benjamín moved to Buenos Aires in 2008 and graduated from Universidad del Cine (FUC) in 2012 with a degree in scriptwriting. He wrote and co-directed with Iñak iOñate the short film “Algomaligno” (16mm, 2009), and worked as a scriptwriter for Caption Group. He´s a regular film critic for www.escribiendocine.com, acting as a correspondent for BAFICI and Mar del PlataFilm Festival. His first novel, Noches de Tartaria, was published in 2006. Contact: benjaminharguindey@gmail.com
CONTRIBU
TING BLOGGER FRANCOIS COULOMBE
Born in Quebec, Francois has vagabonded around the world working on the technical side of movies and video games (Dreamworks Animation, Lucasfilm, etc). The ridiculous amount of traveling turned him into a writer since he had too many stories that couldn’t be contained. He now lives in Buenos Aires helping the local industry to develop and flourish.
CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER MARFA NEKRASOVA
Born in Moscow, Russia, 24 years old Marfa studied journalism, participated in archeological expeditions and received a university degree as an art critic and historian. Her past jobs include working for newspapers, theaters and art festivals in Russia, and also wrote a guide to the hideen places of Moscow. Now she is a student at the film school of Eliseo Subiela in Buenos Aires.
CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER ATZIN ORTIZ GONZALEZ
Born in Mexico City but raised in Puebla, Atzin Ortiz González arrived to Buenos Aires in early 2006. From 2006 to 2010 he attended Universidad del Cine (FUC) to accomplish his studies in film direction. In 2008 he shot his first short film “Permanencia Voluntaria” (35mm), finishing post production in mid 2009. In 2010, he shot his second documentary short film “La Clase” (MiniDV). He is currently working freelance and has just finished post production of his third short film “Post Mortem” (S16mm). Future proyects include the post production of his fourth and fifth short films “Ana y Eme / Eme y Ana” (35mm, S8 and HD), “Viceversa” (35mm) and the funding of his first feature script “Me, Vos, Buenos Aires”.
Contact: atzino@gmail.com Twitter @AtzinOG
CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER MARIANN KUN-SZABO
Mariann
is a Hungarian expat living in Buenos Aires since 2012. In her freetime she is a passionate solo female traveler who has already been in 4 continents and 30 countries. She started her own blog, Tiny Girl with Big Bag, where she shares her travel adventures and shows the world as she sees it. Her passion for writing does not stop while she travels. As she is fond of culture and literature, film blogging is a new challenge for her, which she is ready to take on.
Contact: tinygirlwithbigbag@tinygirlwithbigbag.com
Web: www.tinygirlwithbigbag.com Twitter: @TinyGirlBigBag
CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER CECILIA BARONE
After achieving my Entertainment Medias studies with concentration in scriptwriting and development at UCLA, I decided to move to Buenos Aires to further my career as an author and journalist. My professional experiences allowed me to evolve in an international environment and gained valuable knowledge as an author and story analyst with the Los Angeles Theater Center and Mace Neufeld Productions. I assured the analysis of several scripts, writing coverage and their diffusion for the preparation of pre – production phase.
While filmmaking and writing have and will remain my passion, I have many other interests including photography and travel. It offers me the chance to meet people from different horizons and same way of travelling.
Contact information: baron.cecilia@gmail.com
CONTIBRUTING BLOGGER LAUREN PRINGLE
Lauren Pringle is a freelance writer and actress.
CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER SOPHIE BARR
Sophie Barr is a 3rd year undergraduate from University College London, studying French & Spanish – a degree which happily includes watching/studying a whole load of films. After moving out to Buenos Aires for her year abroad, she decided that achieving an encyclopaedic knowledge of British film just wasn’t enough, and so is pursuing this goal in Argentine film as well. Her career choice of the moment is to become a subtitle translator, and live happily ever after in South America. Other interests include learning to speak like a porteño, sampling all the gastronomic delights BA has to offer, and indulging in a bit of Freud on the side. You can contact her at sophie.barr.09@ucl.ac.uk
CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER AMY RAMIREZ
Amy Ramirez is a part-time marketing intern for San Telmo Productions, part-time website salesperson, and part-time account manager for the Buenos Aires Pubcrawl. She moved to Buenos Aires after studying Comparative Literature at Florida International University in Miami, and wants to become a filmmaker. She makes it a habit to frequent the movie theatre where she exchanges thoughts with older Argentineans on new releases. When she isn’t designing newsletters, writing blogs, making power-points, talking it up with the matinee bunch, supervising drunken foreigners, or being a stereotype, she enjoys pretending to be synesthetic. If you are a real synesthete, or if you just want to contact Amy to say “hello,” please do so at: arami035@gmail.com
CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER ADAM DAVIS
Adam Davis is a rising junior at Brown University spending his summer vacation enjoying the Argentinian lifestyle in Buenos Aires. As a student of Modern Culture and Media, he is interested in learning more about global film, and especially television, culture. Adam’s other interests include writing poetry, playing tennis, and trying to continue improving his Spanish. You can contact him at adam_davis@brown.edu.
CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER AMELIA BATHO
Amelia Batho is a recent University Graduate from the UK with a passion for travel. Before Argentina she spent nine months in Costa Rica working for an NGO but decided to swap the ‘Gallo pinto’ for the ‘vino tinto’ and is now living in Buenos Aires. From her background in Biology she has always been interested in wildlife documentary (with a major soft spot for David Attenborough!) which has led to an interest in film and documentary as a whole. Through her travels she has seen the power of the media and the impact that it can have and it is something she wants to get involved in! She is very excited to be blogging for San Telmo Productions and is enjoying the immersion into Argentine film. Contact her at ameliabatho@msn.com
CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER ROB SYKES
Rob Sykes hails originally from a town called Ma[lice]cclesfield, now living in Buenos Aires via Bristol and London. Having arrived to stay 6 months, has now been living in the Argentine capital enjoying its varied cultural programme and lifestyle for over a year. Watcher of films, listener to music, reader of books, and observer of people and, therefore, occasional scientist studying the behaviour of certain beasts roaming around South America:
http://thegringosaurs.blogspot.com/
CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER FER MUJICA
CONTRIBUTING BLOGGER TRACEY CHANDLER
Tracey Chandler is a 30 year old freelance writer, editor, blogger and social networking junkie who, for the most part, works for Webr
ageous Studios, Time Out Buenos Aires, South American Explorers and Ola’s World. She is originally from the UK and is the rare expat in Buenos Aires who is completely fluent in Spanish. Tracey is in charge of the social network and media outreach for San Telmo Productions, and in addition to contributing articles to filminginargentina.wordpress.com she also has her own blog Tracey’s Trash and can be found attending film events, twittering and just being fabulous. You can contact Tracey at tracey@traceychandler.com
Lauren Pringle is a freelance writer and actress.
Filming in Argentina: The blog of San Telmo Productions 
Hi From New York! I work in film production and can´t believe that the Argentine government gives money to make movies. I wish more Argentine movies would make it up here, I really liked “Holy Girl” that I saw a few years back.
very interesting blog, would like more info on commercials that are being filmed down there.
Love the blog, I´d like to see more interviews with producers and directors from Argentina. Do they see South Africa as competition or is a different ball game?
Hello,
I would love to see if you could give me a quote to come and shoot my mother cooking class (www.try2cook.com). I am trying to produce a professional video that then I can post on the website. This video will consist on her teaching how to make empanadas.
Please let me know if this is something that you do.
Thanks!
Hi,
we’re thinking of coming down to shoot a few fashion commercials beginning of januari 2010.
have no contacts sofar at all out there, can you give me some more info/price-indications in general?
best regards,
Pieter Witte
Executive Producer
Dender Productions BV
Amsterdam
I am coming to make a film about the Rio Gallegos and will also film around Calafate including the glaciers. It’s a nature, adventure, and conservation film seen through the lens of fly fishing. I have been told we do need film permits by the Argentina Tourism office but is that true? And if so who should we contact. We are coming to Buenos Aires and fly onto Calafate to film the glaciers then travel into the bush, we film on the Rio Gallegos including from the headwaters to the estuary. We are doing interviews with local conservationists as well. And if you think we might get some financial support somewhere please let us know
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