The Cinematic Development Company, also known as FOCINE, was a Colombian environmental government agency established in 1978, FOCINE was in charge of the Colombian National Film Fund, whose purpose was to design, execute, produce and promote the development of the country's film industry through public policies dictated by the Colombian government. During its period of operation, FOCINE laid the foundations for a new stage of Colombian cinema, which allowed different productions from the country to be taken to international film festivals, obtaining important recognition worldwide and positioning Colombian cinema as one of the most important in America, and the eventual evolution into the Film Development Fund - Proimágenes Colombia. However, according to recent critics, it was considered a closed and politicized entity that only sponsored renowned filmmakers and not amateurs.[1]
| Compañía de Fomento Cinematográfico | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 28 July 1978 |
| Dissolved | 17 January 1993 |
| Superseding agency | |
| Headquarters | Bogotá, D.C. |
| Parent agency | Colombian Institute of Culture |
History
editBackground
editThe first existing antecedent for the development of the Public Policy of Cinema in Colombia is the formulation of Law 9 of 1942[2] which promotes the development of the film industry in Colombia, generating tax exemptions and facilities for film makers within Colombian territory, which coincides with the golden age of Colombian cinema, led by the Acevedo Brothers who produced most of the film content in the country at that time. However, the film crisis of the early 1950s led to a large part of the large film production houses in the country disappearing or becoming, as in the case of Cine Colombia, exclusively distributors or exhibitors of film productions from abroad.