The romantic Colombian Caribbean city of Cartagena has attracted interest from some of Hollywood’s most important film producers as a potential location for upcoming projects.
Representatives from major motion picture studios, including Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures, were invited to the city by the Colombian Film Commission (CFC), as part of a campaign to promote the city as a film-making destination.
The visitors were treated to a tour of the city’s historic centre and visited the resort of San Pedro de Majagua in the islands of Rosario.
“There are places in the world that are unique, like this, there is no other place like Cartagena” said Jason Resnick of Resnick Entertainment, who currently works as an advisor at Colombia’s non-profit cinematography fund Proimagenes en Movimiento.
Resnick said that the viability of the Colombian economy is part of its attraction, “we’re looking for a place where it is easy rolling, where problems can be solved without taking away too much time or money.”
Paramount executive, Elizabeth Medel said that her 10 day visit to Colombia had awakened her to the country’s cinematographic possibilities. “Until now, when we thought of filming in Latin America, we thought of Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. There was not other option. But now we’re looking at Colombia.”
Colombia’s foreign investment body, Proexport, regarded the visit as a major coup for Colombian tourism. The organisation, who helped engineer the visit alongside the CFC, said the promotion of Cartagena through international cinema could further consolidate the city as a major tourist destination, “That possibility fills us with pride” said Maria Cristina Pimiento, the organisation’s Cartagena director.