María Fernanda Céspedes, head of the Audiovisual, Film, and Interactive Media Department of Colombia's Ministry of Culture, and Nicolás Batlé, president of Argentina's National Institute of Film and Audiovisual Arts, are the new presidents of the film and audiovisual aid program in the region.
Ibermedia is a stimulus program focused on strengthening the Ibero-American audiovisual scene through financial aid and annual calls open to all audiovisual producers in the countries of the Ibero-American community (Latin America, Spain, Portugal, and Italy). Since the Ibermedia logo first appeared in 1998, the fund has supported the development and co-production of at least 2,000 fiction, documentary, and animation feature films, as well as a number of TV series and training programs through grants and support managed by film and TV schools, laboratories, universities, workshops, seminars, etcetera.
For the first time in the program's 25-year history, two countries will share the co-presidency of Ibermedia. This is seen as an opportunity to promote audiovisual excellence even more strongly. Colombia and Argentina, through María Fernanda Céspedes, head of the Audiovisual, Film, and Interactive Media Directorate of the Ministry of Culture, and Nicolás Batlé, president of Argentina's National Institute of Film and Audiovisual Arts, will take over the Ibermedia presidency from Beatriz Navas, director of Spain's National Institute of Film and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA).
In the words of María Fernanda Céspedes, "It is an honor for Colombia to hold the presidency of the Ibermedia Program together with Argentina for the first time. Our mission for these two years of co-presidency will be to work for consolidating an Ibero-American audiovisual space that promotes the integration of our community of 23 countries (...) We are diverse countries with a common challenge for the present and future: to generate actions in line with the new needs of the region's filmmakers while reinforcing and strengthening what already exists and exploring new paths that bring us even closer to these new industry dynamics, both regionally and globally."
Nicolás Batlé added, "I am very happy and honored to share with Colombia the presidency of Ibermedia, the Ibero-American audiovisual cooperation program whose excellence is reaffirmed year after year (...) From Argentina, through INCAA, we are proud to have been chosen with Colombia, a country with which we feel a great affinity and have a long tradition of joint audiovisual work. I want to emphasize the importance of this experience, and I am at your disposal to contribute our expertise, resources, and knowledge to face the challenges that the new times demand. I anticipate this will be a memorable experience for strengthening the Ibero-American audiovisual space."
To celebrate its 25th anniversary, Ibermedia's slogan will be The thrill of Ibero-American cinema generated in over 2,000 films.
