Profiles: Federico Durán | Proimágenes Colombia

Producer of Alias María – on the lineup for Un Certain Regard at Cannes – and the newest representative of the production sector on the Proimágenes Colombia Board of Directors
 
Federico Durán Amorocho was born in Bogota in 1973. He is the producer and general manager of Rhayuela Films and Rhayuela Cine, and on April 17, he will replace Ana Piñeres on the Proimágenes Colombia Board of Directors as representative of the production sector. Durán produced Alias ​María by José Luis Rugeles, a co-production between Rhayuela Cine (Colombia), Sudestada Cine (Argentina), and Axxon Films (France).
 
Alias María, which is on the program for the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes 2015, was recently the opening film at the 55th Cartagena International Film Festival (FICCI). The film is part of a transmedia project complemented by a series of products and actions deeply connected to its theme, which are primarily focused on contributing to the prevention of forced recruitment of minors in three areas of Colombia – the eastern plains region, the Magdalena Medio region, and Bogota. As part of the Alias María project, Rhayuela is also producing Daniella Castro’s documentary Alias ​Yineth, about the life of Yineth, recruited at age 12 during the peace process with the FARC, who today works with one of the programs reintegrating former combatants into civilian life.
 
In the realm of feature films, Durán has served as production manager of Our Lady of the Assassins (2000), written by Fernando Vallejo and directed by Barbet Schroeder; executive producer of Without Amparo (2004) by Jaime Osorio Gómez; general producer of La historia del baúl rosado (2006) by Libya S. Gómez; production manager of the Colombian-Venezuelan co-production El trato (The Deal) (2006) by Francisco Norden; general producer of Los extraños presagios de León Prozac (2010), an experimental animation feature directed by Carlos Santa and selected at the Annecy Animation Festival; general producer of García (2010) by José Luis Rugeles; general producer of the documentary on the life of Colombian musician Aristarco Perea Copete, Arista Son (2011) by Libya Stella Gómez; and general producer of The Squad (2011) by Jaime Osorio Márquez.
 
After The Squad, he worked as co-producer of the films Vinyl Days (2012) by Gabriel Nesci and Un caballo llamado Elefante (2015) by Andrés Waissbluth.
 
His filmography as a producer includes the short films Gajes del oficio (1998) by Andrés Burgos, producer of Radio taxi santafe (1999) by William Núñez, and general producer of ¿Quién paga el pato? (2000) by Pablo Mora, which is part of the feature film entitled Bogota 2016. In 2000, before joining Rhayuela, Durán began his production career at Tucán Producciones, where together with Jaime Osorio Gómez, he worked on the film Una paloma en Marsella, his graduation film project at EICTV. During his time in Barcelona, ​he made the short film Okupa (1998), which combines real images, still photography, and animation.
 
Durán studied production at the International School of Film and Television (EICTV) in San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba from 1994 to 1996; studied digital post-production at the ESCAC in Barcelona, from 1996 to 1998; and graduated with a degree in Film Directing from the School of Film and Television at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, in 2004. He has participated in numerous workshops and events, such as the Berlinale Talent Campus, the Screenplay and Marketing Workshop held by the Embassy of France in Colombia, the Cartagena Co-Production Meetings, the Guadalajara Co-Production Market, and the Huelva Co-Production Forum. He has also taught at the School of Film and Television at the Universidad Nacional, the Graduate School of Television and the Faculty of Arts at the Universidad Javeriana, and La Salle College in Bogota.