BAM Talks 2025, the free, public event series of the Bogotá Audiovisual Market (BAM), returns for its 16th edition from July 14 to 18, hosting a powerful lineup of international guests. This year's talks will tackle key topics shaping today's audiovisual landscape, including creators behind projects like Cien años de soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude), Ojitos de huevo (Netflix's Nothing to See Here), content produced for FIFA, and the visual concept of Bad Bunny's latest album, Debí tirar más fotos (I Should've Taken More Photos). In parallel, BAM's Encuentros strategy celebrates 20 years of supporting Latin American cinema with three tailored training tracks in fiction, documentary, and animation. Industry professionals can register for BAM accreditations through July 7.
From July 15 to 18, the auditorium of Gimnasio Moderno will once again become the epicenter for critical thought, audiovisual reflection, and conversations with influential voices in the audiovisual industry. BAM, a program of Proimágenes Colombia and the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce with support from the Film Development Fund (FDC), will host a new edition of the BAM Talks—11 must-see sessions with top-tier national and international speakers. This free and open-to-the-public series spans topics from auteur cinema to reggaeton, production design, equity, and the streaming economy. BAM Talks 2025 offers a journey through the ideas, territories, and bodies that are reshaping contemporary audiovisual storytelling.
Lucrecia Martel, one of the most influential filmmakers in contemporary Latin American cinema, will lead this year's programming, including a retrospective in partnership with Bogotá's Cinemateca. With films like La Ciénaga (The Swamp), Zama, and La mujer sin cabeza (The Headless Woman), Martel will share her perspective on the political and aesthetic power of the moving image. From China, radical documentarian and master of observational cinema Wang Bing will reflect on the art of filming lives and processes that often remain outside the frame. Mexican digital artist Tupac Martir—creator of visual experiences for artists such as Beyoncé, Alexander McQueen, and Elton John—will offer a talk on the intersection of art, technology, and the body, an invitation to imagine possible futures through sensory experimentation.
This year's edition will also feature conversations inspired by the question: Who owns this industry? They will explore equity in the audiovisual sector, with insights from Themba Bhebhe, former Head of Diversity at the European Film Market at Berlinale, and Paula Moreno, former Minister of Culture and current Director of Manos Visibles. The dialogue will center on bodies, territories, and narratives that have been systemically excluded from decision-making spaces in the industry. Also contributing to this reflection, Mexican actor and comedian Kike Vázquez (Ojitos de huevo, Netflix) and Colombian-Canadian performer Pamela Ospina will share how comedy can help heal past wounds and how laughter itself can become a form of resistance.
In a space dedicated to film, music, and streaming platforms, Puerto Rican creative duo Arleen Cruz and Ari Manuel Cruz will dive into the experience behind the audiovisual creation of Bad Bunny's album Debí tirar más fotos (I Should've Taken More Photos), in a talk that weaves together reggaetón, cinema, rebellion, and mainstream storytelling. Thanks to a collaboration with the Colombian Academy of Motion Pictures, three leading figures in Latin American production design will come together to share their experience working on Netflix's major regional productions. María Battaglia (El Eternauta - The Eternaut), Carlos Jacques (Pedro Páramo), and Bárbara Enríquez (Cien años de soledad – One Hundred Years of Solitude) will offer insight into how to built narrative worlds for the platform's most ambitious titles in the region.
For those interested in data, industry trends, and new releases, Jaime Otero, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Parrot Analytics, will give a key talk on the present and future of streaming, covering intellectual property valuation, platform economics, and global entertainment trends. To close the BAM Talks, a special presentation of the upcoming series Delirio (Delirium), premiering on July 18, will take place. The session will explore the boundaries of the thriller genre, the dynamics of independent production, and the power of storytelling in the digital age.
Professionals interested in joining the market as accredited participants can register through www.bogotamarket.com until July 7. Accreditation grants access not only to BAM Talks but also to a range of exclusive benefits. These include BAM Brunches—industry-focused breakfasts designed to foster meaningful networking with both national and international guests—and Happy Hours, a relaxed and effective way to wrap up the day's agenda while connecting with peers over a glass of wine. Accredited participants will also have access to the online participants' guide, a digital tool that provides contact details for all companies and professionals participating in this 16th edition. Not to be missed are special events, such as BAM Nights and the Closing Event. Additional benefits include access to the participant directory, the curated Colombian Showcase content catalog, programming across industry and experiential tracks, pre-registration for networking activities, and official BAM merch.
Encuentros at BAM 2025
For the past two decades, the Encuentros initiative has played a key role in strengthening film projects, talent, and industry dynamics across Colombia and Latin America. In 2025, to mark its 20th anniversary, this strategy from the Ministry of Cultures, Arts, and Knowledge—carried out in partnership with Proimágenes Colombia—will offer three training and exchange spaces focused on fiction, documentary, and animation.
The 2025 International Producers Meeting – Fiction Category will take place in two phases: a virtual phase from July 1 to 8, followed by an in-person component from July 11 to 18, during the 16th edition of the BAM. The ten selected projects will have the opportunity to engage with industry experts, receive personalized mentorship, and participate in workshops, networking events, and one-on-one meetings. The program will conclude with a public pitch session.
Selected projects include five from Colombia — Cachorro (Cub), Los Eastman (The Eastmans), Siameses (Siamese), Samurái (Samurai), and the Afro-Colombian project A la orilla del sonido (On the Edge of Sound) — along with three Latin American projects: Marido a domicilio (Husband for Hire), Muñeca (Doll), and Nil.
The mentors guiding this year's process include Iván Melo, a Brazilian film producer with an extensive background in curating and producing. Melo previously served as a programmer for the São Paulo International Film Festival and was artistic director of the Paulínia Film Festival. Joining him is Florencia Gil, who began her career in São Paulo as a theater director and producer. After completing UCLA's Professional Program in Producing in Los Angeles, she founded Orfeu Productions in 2012. Gil has also worked as a sales agent for Rezo Films, Independent, and La Luna Productions (short films). She served as Head of Sales and Acquisitions at Loco Films for four years and at Indie Sales for three, and currently holds the same position at Urban Sales. Also on the mentors list is Colombian producer Paola Pérez Nieto, who brings more than 19 years of experience. Her work includes internationally acclaimed films selected at festivals such as Cannes and TIFF. She is one of the producers behind La tierra y la sombra (Land and Shade, Caméra d'Or, Cannes 2015), Mi bestia (My Beast, ACID – Cannes 2024), Horizonte (Horizon) by César Acevedo (Discovery – TIFF), and Los iniciados, el diario de las sombras (The Initiated: Written From the Shadows) by Carlos Moreno (Amazon Prime).
More Highlights
As part of its mission to bring the industry's most powerful ideas to everyone attending the market, this year's event will welcome representatives from major international companies, including Sony Pictures, Disney, Cartoon Network, MUBI, Dopamine Content, Zeta Studios (producer of Elite), and Infinity Hill (producer of Argentina, 1985, Academy Award nominee), along with Goya-nominated producer Miguel Molina and other key figures in the audiovisual landscape.
The main conversations around Latin American cinema will take place at the Industria venue, located at the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce's Chapinero headquarters, which will host the second edition of the Think Tank: Reflecting on Latin American Cinema. The gathering will bring together voices from film criticism, directing, and exhibition to explore the region's current challenges. The event will open with Coproducir en Latinoamérica, a session showcasing collaborative production experiences from Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.
Along these lines, and in partnership with the Cinema Tropical Awards and the Seminar on Audiences and the Future, a space titled So Close to the Future: Open Conversations on Film Circulation in Latin America will be held in celebration of their 15 years of work. These public discussions will bring together key figures behind some of the continent's most significant exhibition initiatives to explore the challenges of curatorial practices, the need to strengthen national and regional connections among theaters, festivals, and alternative screening platforms, the promotion of national cinemas, and the unique approaches to distribution emerging across the region.
This year's BAM will also host the second edition of the Children's Film Project Lab, an initiative led by CNACC in collaboration with DACMI. The program is designed for Colombian creators developing projects for young audiences.
