Collywood? Colombia’s tax incentives draw movie producers

Tax incentives offered by the national government make Colombia an attractive location for the movie industry.

Within one year of establishing focused tax policies aimed at drawing movie executives to the country, Colombia is currently being considered by over two dozen productions as a shoot location, according to a report in Variety magazine.

“The country has a perception issue dating from the ’80s drug-lord culture,” said Joe Chianese, an executive in the US-based Entertainment Partners production consulting company, “but the film commission has done a good job of changing those perceptions.”

According to Chianese, Colombia is one of the early winners in a regional competition to offer competitive incentives to the movie industry.

In Colombia’s case, a year-old law lets producers save up to 40% on production and post-production services and 20% on lodging, transportation and meals if they hire local production service companies.

Also, wages and other costs in Colombia are low, when compared to the United States and even other Latin American countries like Chile.

And as Mexico, a traditional destination of Hollywood film production, becomes less popular due to safety concerns, the market has been opening for Colombia.

But Hollywood is not the only big market Colombia is targeting.

The Colombian Film Commission went to Mumbai in September to attract producers to Colombia.

“We’re optimistic about Bollywood films being made in Colombian settings in the near future,” said Silvia Echeverri, head of the Colombian Film Commission, in a press release.