Tribeca Film Institute (TFI) has announced that Bloomberg will be supporting an expansion of its Latin America Media Arts Fund (LAMAF) through a program for filmmakers in Colombia. The program, now in four countries, is designed to help filmmakers strengthen their skills for pitching their films, writing proposals and soliciting international funding. The workshops will be held from July to October in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and now in Colombia.

The TFI Bogota Filmmaker Workshop, which takes place at Centro Atico, is the latest addition by the Fund that supports innovative film and video artists whose works reflect their cultures in documentaries or mixed media. Those chosen, who live and work in the Caribbean, Central, Latin and South America, receive workshops and year-long mentorship to help their films reach global audiences. The sessions are led by TFI staff, industry professionals and established filmmakers. The aim is to educate emerging filmmakers and advance their feature documentary or hybrid works that are in late development or early production. TFI is hosting the workshop with support from Colombia’s Ministry of Culture.

Started in 2013, the Fund workshops will be held this year in Bogota, Colombia from July 29th to July 31st, Sao Paulo, Brazil from August 30th to September 1st, Santiago, Chile from October 22nd to October 24th and Mexico City, Mexico from October 27th to October 31st. Each of the programs will have sessions open to the public.

“This workshop represents an important opportunity for the world to hear a new set of stories told by Colombia’s talented community of filmmakers and creative storytellers,” said Ryan Harrington, Vice President of Artist Programs at Tribeca Film Institute. “As TFI’s presence grows throughout Latin America with the generous support of Bloomberg, we hope the world will discover new values and histories that connect humanity in ways we never thought possible. It is an honor to partner with the Colombia’s Ministry of Culture to host this event.”

Nanette Smith, Manager of Global Philanthropy and Engagement, Bloomberg LP, said: “Latin America is a vital market for Bloomberg and we are delighted to expand our partnership with Tribeca Film Institute to support filmmakers in Colombia, as well as the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America. The Latin America Media Arts Fund will increase public access to the arts and promote creative work, while empowering artists and cultural organizations within the region and benefiting the arts community globally.”

The Colombian filmmakers will be mentored by Carlos A. Gutiérrez (co-founding director of New York-based Cinema Tropical), Jaime Tenorio (Director, Senal Colombia), documentary filmmaker Luis Ospina (TIGRE DE PAPEL), Pia Barragan (Manager of Distribution, Cine Colombia), writer/director Andres Baiz (SATANAS) and members of TFI’s filmmaker programs.

The following projects and filmmakers have been selected for the TFI Latin America Media Arts Fund Filmmaker Workshop in Bogota:

· EL CONFIDENTE (THE CONFIDANT)

Luis Villegas (director) and Alejandra Mosquera (producer)
THE CONFIDANT is an auteur’s documentary that follows the day-to-day life of Gustavo Salazar Pinesa, “the attorney of the Mafia”: a contradictory, eccentric, ambiguous and polemic man who represents a paradigm in contemporary Colombian history.

· LA SELVA INFLADA (THE INFLATED JUNGLE)

Alejandro Naranjo (director); Rodrigo Dimate (producer)
In an ancestral community deep in the Colombian Amazon region, a series of suicides are occurring among young indigenous people beset by the arrival of light-skinned men who bring a lot of capital and a frenetic culture.

· PUENTES EN EL MAR (BRIDGES OVER THE SEA)

Patricia Ayala Ruiz (director) and Ericka Salazar Berdugo (producer)
BRIDGES OVER THE SEA presents a portrait of the port city of Tumaco, a territory inhabited by people living in pile dwellings across five different communes who find themselves plagued by a wide array of warring factions.

· MEMORIAS EN DESHIELO (THAWING MEMORIES)

Lorena Kraus & Alejandro Bernal (co-directors); Juliana Florez (producer)
THAWING MEMORIES is an amazing journey across Colombia´s mountains in the 1930’s, seen through the archival of Erwin Kraus – a restless adventurer and mountain climbing pioneer who filmed and photographed a beautiful testimony of Colombia´s highest peaks.

· RESONANCIA DE LA RUINA (AFTERMATH OF THE WRECK)

Ivan Reina Ortiz (director); Juan Felipe Rios Rodriguez (producer)
‘Fercho’, ‘Hippie’ and ‘Devil’ live together in a derelict house within a “no-man’s land”, until an eviction notice makes them wonder whether to leave by their own means or to stay until the end – and find out what remains beyond the wreck.

· LA DEFENSA DEL DRAGON (DEFENSE OF THE DRAGON)

Natalia Santa (writer/director), Ivette Liang (producer)
Three gamblers spend their days in the center of Bogotá, learning that it is never too late to lose.

· LA PESCA DEL ATUN BLANCO (FISHING FOR THE WHITE TUNA)

Maritza Blanco (director), Etienne Boussac (editor/producer)
Mariana pays for school by fishing for–and selling–the elusive white tuna, which is dumped from drug-trafficking boats, off the coast of Colombia.

· VOLTA

Jose Orozco (director, VFX supervisor)
A courageous family fights energy giant Combusto and discovers a sustainable energy source.

· LA TIERRA Y LA SOMBRA (LAND AND SHADE)

Jorge Forero (director/producer), Paula Perez (producer)
A man returns home only to find that an insidious sickness threatens the sugarcane fields, his family, and their livelihoods.

· EN UN LUGAR FELIZ (IN A HAPPY PLACE)

Inti Zamorra (producer), Maria Nevett (producer)
A father and mother brave guerrilla warfare to Skype with their son, a solider.