Panama woos filmmakers

April 25, 2009

La Prensa

Panama had a starring role in last week’s AFCI Locations Fair, a popular convention hosted this year by one of the prestigious international film commissions in the region.

“We put on the first VIP Panama Film Industry Forum to promote the country as a preferred Latin American location for all types of audiovisual and cinematographic works, bringing together 120 of the most influential scouts for locations, directors and producers,” reported the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

During the forum, Deputy Minister Severo Sousa highlighted some of the country’s main advantages, noting its natural landscapes, its modern airport facilities, the use of the U.S. dollar and a new law promoting the film industry and a Media Village to be constructed in the Special Pacific Economic Area in Howard.

“The guests demonstrated significant interest in the country as a film location,” said the official, adding that the ministry is working on creating a more personal relationship with those companies and producers, and has proposed organizing a tour of picturesque sites.

The ministry confirmed that the Colombian network Cadena Caracol TV and Mexican media group Televisa are exploring the tax advantages and logistics of the future Media Village.

Last year, television, film and documentaries and other productions featuring Panamanian landscapes generated $19 million. And Sousa reported that the film industry brought in around $6 million during the first quarter of this year.

London & Regional de Panamá, the company responsible for developing the master plan on the former military base in Howard, confirmed that the Media Village will be constructed on 30 hectares of the International Business Park, another project already under construction at the Panama Pacific Special Area.

Despite the advancement of plans for the mega media complex, company sources said it’s not likely to get underway just yet.

“The consolidation of this specialized area is planned for future phases of construction,” said L & RP general manager Henry Kardonski, but explained that the company has already invested more than $26 million in building a state-of-the-art technology platform aimed at promoting sustained development of the country’s nascent communications.

Panamanian filmmaker Abner Benaim welcomed the government’s initiative, but urged the Ministry of Trade and Industry not to stop at wooing the foreign film production agencies, but to expand funding of the national industry.

“The film law they passed is cock-eyed, crippled, defective,” said Benaim. “It left out the most important factor: support for the national cinema. It should be included in tax incentives such as those in Brazil and Colombia, where if you invest in cinema its tax over 50 percent deductible.”