This June 7, FICG40 opened the doors of the Santander Performing Arts Ensemble to members of the film industry to officially announce a crucial development in Mexican cinema: the birth of the Mexican Federation of Film Producers.
The call was attended by leading national industry figures such as Nicolás Celis, president of the Mexican Association of Independent Producers (AMPI); Gonzalo Elvira, president of the Association of Mexican Film Producers and Distributors (APDPM); Carlos Gómez and Alejandra Cárdenas, representatives of the Audiovisual Producers' Rights Management Entity (EGEDA Mexico); and Armando Casas, president of the Mexican Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMACC).
The Mexican Federation of Film Producers is presented as an organization aimed at promoting strategic alliances between AMPI, APDPM, EGEDA Mexico and AMACC, the latter as an honorary member. Nicolás Celis, recently appointed president of the Federation, said: "This event represents a foundational moment that arises from dialogue, consensus and the need for affection and unity,
Celis also shared the three strategic axes on which the Mexican Federation of Film Producers is built. The first is the representation and defense of the sector; with the objective of consolidating a common voice that dialogues, intercedes and manages on behalf of the producers' collective. The second seeks to promote the production and circulation of national cinema, strengthening existing fiscal incentives and expanding access to screens. Finally, the third point focuses on sustainable development, with a view to guaranteeing decent working conditions for all those involved in the different stages of film production.
"Hopefully this will be the month of a bigger, more inclusive and more powerful conversation about the present and the future," concluded Nicolas Celis, President of the Mexican Federation of Film Producers.
On the other hand, Bertha Navarro, renowned producer of films such as Invención de Cronos (1992), enthusiastically celebrated the creation of the Federation and stressed the importance of unity among filmmakers to "protect, express and remain strong".
Daniela Alatorre, director of the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (IMCINE), emphasized that cinema has no reason to exist without each of the groups that make up the country's audiovisual industry. "Cinema celebrates the existence of the generation as part of a movement that prioritizes collectivity and community," she said.
For her part, Mónica Lozano, acclaimed producer of Amores Perros (2000) and Los Lobos (2019), stressed that this moment represents an opportunity for Mexican cinema to reaffirm its sovereignty and identity. "May we always have a plurality of voices, diversity, and may we be able to make our differences strengthen us," she added.
To conclude the meeting, Carlos Hernandez, producer of Mandarina Cine and member of AMPI, called on production companies and producers interested in joining the initiative, "we will be very happy to continue growing, the doors are open to dialogue to generate, more and more, the strength that represents the Federation," he concluded.