Colombia. With a delegation of more than 30 people, Colombian and South American talent left a strong impression at the International Animation Film Market (Mifa), which celebrated its 40th edition this year within the framework of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
In this edition, Colombia stood out with an articulated work together with national and international allies, united with the purpose of positioning regional animation and opening new opportunities in the field of video games and immersive content.
Colombian production companies, festivals and agents participated thanks to different support managed such as the incentive of attendance to international markets offered by the Colombian Film Commission, the support provided by ProColombia, and the accompaniment through the IMC (International Mifa Campus), carried out in collaboration with the Film Education Program - Other Eyes of the French Embassy in Colombia.
In addition, thanks to regional initiatives such as Gente Convergente, from the Ministry of Culture, Recreation and Sports of Bogotá, and El Pauer de Comfama, together with its animation festival, the participants were visible at the Colombian stand and in spaces for interaction.
Mifa pitches wins
After its presentation, the short film Where is my espresso?, directed by Andrés Felipe Rodríguez and Joan Sebastián García, and produced by Luisa Fernanda Velásquez Carrera, was the winner in the Mifa Pitches category, obtaining an artistic residency at Filmværksted Viborg (Denmark) within the industry section.
For their part, after the training process received at the IMC, Colombian filmmakers Irati Dojura and Isabella Palacio presented their project Bekaura: Daughters of corn; Marcela Rincón and Maritza Rincón participated with El susurro del mar, in the pitch of female directors from the Andean countries, which allowed us to observe the work done previously. This space, organized by the Otros Ojos program, also included four projects from Bolivia, Venezuela and Ecuador, and achieved an outstanding attendance of professionals from the sector, generating valuable opportunities for training, connection and visibility for talents in the region.
Finally, other titles also had an outstanding participation; in the WIP (Work in Progress) section, the Chilean-Colombian co-production The Devil's Vein was presented by Silvia Prietov of Lucy Animation. This was the only Latin American project selected in the festival's WIP Features. In the Focus space of La Liga de la Animación Iberoamericana, the pitch of El que quiere besar busca la boca was presented, produced by Malpraxis, which arrived in Annecy after its successful passage through Animation! in Ventana Sur.
Convergent People in Annecy
Under the strategy led by the Ministry of Culture, Recreation and Sports of Bogotá, in support of Proimágenes Colombia, the Convergent People program was presented in an international space. This is an initiative of the Mayor's Office of Bogotá whose purpose is to position the city as a hub of digital creation in Latin America, articulating culture, technology and community. Through this innovative platform, it seeks to transform the digital landscape of the capital and consolidate it as a competitive center for the cultural and creative industries.
At the Colombian stand, meetings were held with various actors and companies interested in the production and future distribution of strategic content, with the aim of strengthening the digital ecosystem in Bogotá in the sectors of animation, video games, immersive content, and its projection and international circulation.
In addition, a working table was held with animation companies in the Colombian capital. As a result, alliances are being explored to develop a training project aimed at video game creators, in collaboration with strategic partners in France and Germany. Likewise, it is planned to form a robust team of advisors and experts to strengthen the processes of promotion, training and internationalization that are being structured within the framework of Convergent People.
An animation with a South American accent
Colombia had one of the most outstanding Latin American presences in the market, one of the things that generated the greatest impact was its articulated participation with the Andean countries thanks to the great effort of the French Embassy in Colombia with its OTROS OJOS program and its collaboration with Argentina through the Orillas Nuevas initiative that allowed strengthening ties between sister countries.
The networking spaces organized in what became the South American corner not only facilitated the exchange of contacts and the presentation of projects, but also fostered key conversations about industry trends, the incorporation of new technologies and the accelerated pace at which the sector is currently moving globally. These meetings made it possible to rethink production strategies, both in services and in the creation of original content, and opened up new opportunities for co-production with Latin American and Latin American countries, a line of action that is consolidated as a strategic priority.
Proimágenes Colombia coordinated two key spaces: bilateral meetings with the ICAA and ICEX in Spain, and with the Occitanie region in France. These scenarios gave visibility to multiple Colombian projects, evidencing the sustained growth of national animation and its consolidation as a sector with its own identity and international projection.
