Profiles: Gonzalo Castellanos V. | Proimágenes Colombia

Writer, professor, and audiovisual producer, he manages Latin American social and cultural policies and projects. Mr. Gonzalez is the author of the book Cinematografía en Colombia, tras las huellas de una industria (Cinematography in Colombia, in the footsteps of an industry).

He studied Political Science and Law in Colombia, Territorial Organization at INAP in Spain, and Management of Social Projects at INDES - IDB, Washington D.C. In the audiovisual field, he has constructed and managed economic instruments, legislation, and public and sectorial policies since 1998 in Colombia and other Latin American countries. He was a film production professor at the San Antonio de los Baños Film and TV School in Cuba for several years. He also served as an associate producer of the Colombian feature films La sangre y la lluvia (Blood and Rain), La sociedad del semáforo (Traffic Light Society), and En coma (In a Coma), among others.

He is a dedicated Latin Americanist who has championed cultural policies and projects across multiple countries on the continent. His expertise spans various domains, including publishing, audiovisual production, creative industries, reading initiatives, book ecosystems, libraries, cultural heritage, submerged heritage, financing, and participatory and community management in culture. He has been invited as an analyst to numerous forums focusing on arts, peacebuilding, culture, and creative industries. Before the final agreement with the FARC-EP, he managed the Cultural Manifesto for Peace. For his book Patrimonio cultural, integración y desarrollo en América Latina (Cultural Heritage, Integration, and Development in Latin America), he was honored with the Latin American Julio González Gómez Award in social sciences.

Author of essay books such as Cinematografía en Colombia, tras las huellas de una industria (Cinematography in Colombia, in the footsteps of an industry), whose second edition, published by Ícono Editorial and Proimágenes Colombia, was launched at the Bogotá International Book Fair (FilBo 2023), as part of the activities celebrating Proimágenes Colombia's 25th anniversary. "It is a book about why a country with so many messes and horrors decides to bet on cinema, to bet on more people being trained in this field, on more people telling local stories, on foreign productions from big studios and platforms coming to hire the work of Colombian artists and technicians, on people investing time and money in it. The balance between pure and hard entertainment and 'guerrilla cinema,' local independent cinema, is seen here critically," he said in an interview for Cambio Magazine.

In the interview, he also discussed the consolidation of the audiovisual industry within the regional context. "Many Latin American countries aim to replicate the instruments implemented in Colombia, such as the contributions or deductions for investing in Colombian films and discounts for those who hire local talent. These measures were established in the audiovisual laws of 2003 and 2019, with a remarkable multiplier factor of three to one. In other words, for every dollar the state invests, three times more resources are generated. The Colombian case is astonishing. Within a remarkably short period (20 years), it has achieved an impressive growth in films, infrastructure, employment opportunities, scriptwriting, hosting of platforms, theaters, and television, regional competitiveness, positive trade balance, contributions to GDP, film schools and academies, film commissions, location scouting, and filming in public spaces, among other advancements."

April 2023.