In its bid to consolidate the Colombian audiovisual industry, the Bogota Audiovisual Market - BAM, a program of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce (CCB) and Proimágenes Colombia, with the support of the Film Development Fund (FDC), began its on-site component yesterday, which will run through Saturday, July 16.

The activities will take place at four locations in Bogota: Gimnasio Moderno (Experience Venue), CCB - Chapinero Office (Industry Venue), Casa ARK and Múltiplex Cine Colombia Avenida Chile (Screenings Venues).

Since Monday, July 11, when the virtual component was launched, the best of national talent has met with 128 national and international buyers from 18 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Spain, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Sudan, United Kingdom, Uruguay and the United States. Among the buyers and special guests were Néstor Hernández, vice president of content for Latin America at Sony Pictures; Xavi Toll of Zeta Studios; Thierry Lenouvel of Cine Sud Promotion; and Emellie O'Brien, founder and director of Earth Angel, pioneer of the sustainable productions movement, among others.

María Paz Gaviria, platforms manager of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce, stated that "this is a great opportunity that helps the audiovisual sector to consolidate the reactivation that has been taking place in recent months, thanks to the contacts that are generated to close deals in the short, medium and long term".

And is that according to data from the commercial register of the Chamber of Commerce of Bogota, only in the city region the sector of creative industries, culture and graphics, with a cut to June this year, had 23.801 active companies, 4.3% more than in 2021; and 19% more compared to 2020. However, with respect to pre-pandemic levels, there are 6.9% fewer active companies, which indicates that the sector still faces challenges. For this reason, the BAM becomes a dynamic moment for the industry. Claudia Triana, director of Proimágenes Colombia, stated that "in the last five years the Bogota Audiovisual Market has given awards to more than 130 projects that potentially became content. For this edition we reached more than 900 accredited participants who have scheduled more than 1,800 appointments that we hope will also materialize in projects, alliances and businesses that will continue to consolidate our industry". National talent With the talents of Bammers, Stories, Film Projects, Series Projects, Animation, Film Screenings and Short Film Screenings, BAM continues to consolidate itself as a reference in Latin America. A total of 67 contents and talents were selected, including 30 projects in development (children's animation, series, feature films); 6 feature films and 5 short films in post-production; 12 audiovisual writers with stories in development, and 14 young talents in the audiovisual industry. In addition, 1 fast track series project and 5 Film Projects (feature films in development). This year, the market has 61 international guests from 16 countries. BAM also has a rich academic agenda that has established itself as one of the most important spaces for updating industry professionals. The BAM talks, which take place in the Auditorium of the Gimnasio Moderno de Bogotá (Carrera 9 #74-99), are free and open to all audiences. See the program at https://www.bogotamarket.com/