Organized by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Mining of the Province of Córdoba (through ProCórdoba Agency), the Córdoba Audiovisual Hub and Prensario Internacional, the second Audiovisual Inward Mission took place in Córdoba and offered inviting prospects for the industry's future in the province.
Córdoba welcomed international players who visited the capital city to learn about local projects with a potential to be escalated to the global market.
The event offered a space for networking, discussions, training and business, organized according to a dynamic and comprehensive schedule that kicked off with a an Institutional Breakfast and continued with a showcase by Cordobese producers. Local firms participated in over 60 business meetings with the international players and got the chance to show them their audiovisual projects.
Among the international visitors were representatives for the Latin American divisions of Gaumont, Viacom, Disney and Turner, apart from film producers Bananeira Filmes (Brazil) and Jirafa (Chile), and TV producers Boomerang (Spain) and Cinépolis (Mexico).
ProCórdoba Agency's President Jorge Marcotegui said, "The audiovisual sector was boosted under the 2016 Audiovisual Act, and it has since grown exponentially: its nearly 30 producers have not only produced more, but also exported more. We are very happy with the quality of international players present this year, and I believe we have raised our game compared to last year's mission."
"We are truly honored to welcome you here in Córdoba. You need us and we need you even more. This is not an invitation to buy our content, but to tell us what you are looking for and evaluate opportunities to work together. That is what the world is about today: finding the best partnerships," expressed Audiovisual Hub Coordinator Jorge Álvarez.
Córdoba's Governor Juan Schiaretti received the international representatives and took the time to hear about their companies; he also underscored the "fundamental place" that the audiovisual sector has in his administration.
As for the mission, the participants all agreed that this was a "highly enriching" encounter to gain insight about the Cordobese audiovisual industry.
Ezequiel Olzanski works as a VP for Sales and Co-productions for Gaumont, the company behind Narcos which continues developing fiction products in Latin America. He talked about his experience: "This has been very interesting. The event ha allowed us to see and analyze the growth of producers as a result of the support received by the Córdoba Audiovisual Hub. We are seeing more and more companies from the region in the international market, which offer products of an increasingly good quality."
For her part, Vania Catani, an Executive Producer at Bananeira Filmes, pointed out that "We are facing a regional crisis and we must support one another, especially considering the situation of the Brazilian audiovisual sector. This is a revelation moment for me that encourages me to be more open to the possibility of participating in projects that drive me, personally."
Córdoba Produce (Córdoba Produces Group) considered the results to be "extremely positive": "We not only brought key representatives from Ibero-America (having brought Spain for the first time), but all the activities taught us something about pitching projects, new business models and market trends," in the words of Twins's Lorena Quevedo and Tres Mares Films' María Eugenia Ferrer.
The mission closed with a co-productions forum where participants (producers and players) discussed trends and experiences, new funding models such as branded content, and the new challenges faced by independent producers.
