Bogota’s Film Market Bets on Netflix to Go Regional

Economy

Key Facts

—When. The 17th Bogotá Audiovisual Market runs July 6 to 10 across venues in the Colombian capital.

—Who runs it. It is organised by Proimágenes Colombia and the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce.

—The scale. Organisers list 170 selected projects, 143 international guests and 18 distributors from five countries.

—The milestone. For the first time, its main talent call opens to foreign filmmakers, backed by Netflix.

—A French link. A new tie-up with Unifrance connects French sales agents to Latin American distributors.

—Not a festival. It is a business market for financing and coproduction, not a public screening event.

While the World Cup fills Colombia’s screens, a quieter contest plays out in Bogotá, where the Bogotá Audiovisual Market gathers the people who decide which Latin American films and series actually get made.

The market, known by its initials BAM, runs from July 6 to 10. This is its 17th edition, and it is staged by the national film promoter Proimágenes Colombia together with the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce.

It is worth being clear about what BAM is. Unlike a film festival, which shows finished films to the public, this is a business event where producers meet financiers, distributors and streaming platforms to strike deals.

Why the Bogotá Audiovisual Market matters

For a foreign reader, the stakes are commercial rather than artistic. Film and television are an export business, and a market like this is where the region’s content is packaged, funded and sold abroad.

The Rio Times reviewed the organisers’ own figures, which list 170 selected projects, 143 international guests and 18 distributors from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and the United States.

The academic side of the programme is unusually practical. Sessions carry titles such as a hands-on guide to Latin American coproduction and a walk-through of how to take a project to global platforms.

That focus reflects the moment. As the big streaming services trim budgets and change strategy, producers are leaning again on international coproductions, public funds and hybrid deals for cinema and digital release.

Artificial intelligence runs through the agenda too. Panels weigh how tools for scripting and post-production can cut costs, while asking how the industry protects copyright and the human core of its stories.

The Netflix milestone

The headline change this year is a first. BAM has opened its flagship talent programme, called Bammers, to filmmakers from outside Colombia, in a partnership with Netflix.

20 international creators will join 20 Colombian ones in Bogotá. The call drew more than 100 applications from 13 countries, a signal of how much the region wants a shared marketplace.

The mentors on hand make the commercial intent plain. They include a Colombian producer with credits for Netflix, Amazon and HBO, and a Mexican executive who oversaw the streaming adaptation of One Hundred Years of Solitude.

A second new alliance points across the Atlantic. A tie-up with the French export body Unifrance is designed to connect French sales agents with Latin American distributors, widening the region’s reach into Europe.

A market with a wider audience

The organisers are also trying to open the doors a little. Alongside the closed industry sessions, this edition adds public events at the city film archive and a cultural centre in Chapinero.

The programme has added three new themes as well. They cover emerging formats such as animation and video games, the preservation of film archives, and stories tied to Colombia’s decade-old peace accord.

The ambition is regional. After a 2025 edition built around Latin American storytelling, BAM is now positioning Bogotá as the place where the continent’s audiovisual industry meets to do business.

The logic mirrors a wider bet across the region. Cities from Rio to Buenos Aires are treating film and television as industrial policy, chasing the jobs and export earnings that a steady pipeline of local-language content can bring.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Bogotá Audiovisual Market?

It is an annual film and television business market held in the Colombian capital, organised by Proimágenes Colombia and the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce. Producers, distributors and platforms meet there to finance, coproduce and sell projects, rather than to screen finished films to the public.

What is new in 2026?

For the first time, its main talent call opened to filmmakers from outside Colombia, in a partnership with Netflix that brings 20 international creators to Bogotá. A new alliance with the French body Unifrance also links French sales agents to Latin American distributors.

When and where is it held?

The 17th edition runs from July 6 to 10, 2026 across several venues in Bogotá, including the Chamber of Commerce site in Chapinero, the Gimnasio Moderno and the city film archive.

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