Colombia. Colombia was established as the spearhead for the expansion in Latin America of a Canadian multinational visual effects company that provides its services to large companies such as Netflix, CBS, HBO and Amazon Studios.
These are Folks, a company that strengthened its operation by merging with FuseFX, a company with visual effects studios in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta and Vancouver; and also with the acquisition of Rising Sun Pictures based in Adelaide, Australia, expanding its presence in eight locations in North America, South America and Oceania.
The company's commitment in Colombia focuses on developing advanced visual effects of the Hollywood level, with state-of-the-art technology, artistic knowledge and with a focus on the export of this type of services, to serve the Latin American and United States markets.
"It is a market with a lot of talent and where there is a great opportunity to develop the world of VFX (visual effects) creating industry and from its hand employment, training and training that allows professionals to grow in the country and avoid the flight of talents. That is one of our objectives with our presence in Bogotá, that our professionals can work on international projects from Colombia and train from here. The potential is enormous," says Andrea Espinal, Studio Director and VFX Supervisor for Folks in Colombia.
According to Espinal, from the country they have worked in productions such as Motherland Fort Salem, Blood & Treasure, Siren, Black Monday, Siempre bruja, Mil colmillos, Monarca, Somos; and History of a Crime: Colmenares; among others from production companies such as Netflix, CBS, HBO and Amazon Studios. "We are working on products for the United States, Canada, Mexico and productions for Colombia, our commitment is to form a responsible and competitive industry here," he said.
According to analysis by ProColombia and Invest in Bogota, with information from Dane, the capital of the country is the national epicenter of the audiovisual industry, 40% of the nearly 9,000 companies that constitute the business ecosystem of the creative industries in Bogotá have as their main activity the production, transmission and / or postproduction of content for the audiovisual sector.
"Folks' presence in Colombia reflects the potential of the creative industries and the orange economy to attract large international studios that see the Colombian market as an ideal opportunity to settle and take advantage of the advantages it offers, such as tax incentives, talent, diversity of locations, among others. These industries that have a dna of innovation become even more relevant in the current situation, given their ability to transform and continue contributing to the development of Colombia. This investment is another example of how our country is projected as a location for nearshoring with availability of services and a strategic proximity to target markets," said Flavia Santoro, president of ProColombia.
Although the current global situation that is lived by the coronavirus has had impacts in which the audiovisual sector is no stranger, the prospects of Folks in the country for the future are positive. The company continues to work in international productions and seeks to close 2021 with about 40 job positions and in a broader perspective reach about 100, with artistic profiles in digital specialties of 3D, 2D, composition, graphics among others.
Canada is the world's sixth largest investor in Colombia. In the last decade, the investment generated from this market amounted to US$5,969 million, according to the Balance of Payments of the Bank of the Republic and has been concentrated in sectors such as: agri-food, energy, BPO, financial services, air transport, pharmaceutical industry and energy mining segments, among others.
The creative industries and orange economy sector continues to boom and develop. During 2020, it concentrated foreign capital investments of US$75 million, a figure that is expected to double during 2021. The National Government promotes the development of this segment, which is one of the pillars for the transition from the raw materials economy to an economy of knowledge and culture and which seeks to play a leading role in development and intervention models.
