Got a film proposal you want to pitch to the world? Or simply want to exchange ideas on how to make Colombia a ‘movie central’? Then from the 14th to the 18th of July you best hold your ground in Bogotá and head over to the Bogotá Audiovisual Market (BAM) as this year, the project’s 5th edition, local producers and their international counterparts will meet; all in the context and spirit of spurring on a reality that Colombia is the place to be for visual creatives.
With the simultaneous release last month between Bogotá and London thanks to live streaming, an audience of movie professionals and government representatives gathered at the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce (CCB) headquarters to go over the events of the five days in July which 250 buyers from 20 countries will gather in Colombia’s capital to screen 47 home grown projects. The United Kingdom is the guest nation this year and has invited a delegation of 30 business leaders among them the London-based Bedlam Productions team who have won Academy Awards for their feature film and documentary productions.
Movie representatives from the Canada Media Fund, the International Film Festival of Berlin, TIFF Toronto and the Hong Kong Film Festival will also cast their discerning eyes on the nation and its competitiveness when it comes to visual storytelling.
The Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá and the country’s official film promotion agency Proimágenes Colombia, teamed up with the British Council to make the 5th edition possible and on the success of last year’s event, the BAM continues to consolidate itself as one of the most important business venues for the creative arts, and ranked second in all of Latin America.
While the focus maybe on film and British movie making talent, national television companies and their media buyers will play a key role in selling Colombia as place where stories can come true. The audiovisual market will also open its doors to the public for the first time, so that future ‘bammers’ can nurture their good ideas in the corridors and conference halls of experience.
For Harvey Martinez, BAM is rare chance to show his reel to possible future agents. Working with animation, the 32 year-old aspiring director sees the United Kingdom as a “visual powerhouse” and a possible destination in which to further a career. “The British are master storytellers,” states Harvey. “And here, we have stories waiting to be told.”
The Bogotá Audiovisual Market strives to give an integral vision of Colombia’s audiovisual capacities, bringing together the right people from the right companies, as well as professionals from key service related industries such as editing, set design, cinematography and make up.
The 47 BAM projects, which will be offered up, went through a rigorous selection process by national curators and a jury recognized for choosing films and shorts of international caliber. “We are committed at the Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá in strengthening and improving our competitiveness of the creative economy,” remarked the Chamber’s president Mónica de Greiff. For Claudia Triana, director of Proimágenes Colombia, “Colombia can take great pride in offering the world creative talent, production capacity to international standards, and with a broad base of services from location to rich biodiversity.”
The 5th edition of the Bogotá Audiovisual Market will take place in four main venues: the Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá (Chapinero), the Cultural Center of the Gimnasio Moderno school, Cine Colombia (Ave.Chile) and the Hilton Hotel. With BAM this month, we can honestly say, that Bogotá is reaching to the stars of the silverscreen.
 is positioned as the second most important market for audiovisual creatives in Latin America.){kind=link}