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 But when it came time to import the equipment needed for the
three-minute spot, they collided head-on with the country's
byzantine import regulations. Argentina demanded hefty deposits
on all vehicles, cameras, and lights, and producers were unsure
when - or even if - their imports would make it through customs.
The solution? Move to Chile.
"Now, we're not filming many projects in Argentina. Many of our
clients don't want to go back there," said Cristobal Sotomayor,
a partner for Buenos Aires-based Goodgate Films, which produced
the spot.
According to producers and executives, Sotomayor's experience is
far from unique.
Repelled by onerous tariffs, economic malaise and unorthodox
policymaking, advertising producers are souring on Argentina,
where protectionist policies have expanded significantly in
recent years.
Observers say even creative industries that have long been a
point of pride in a country known for tango and theater are not
immune.
The shift is also a vote of confidence for neighboring Chile,
where producers can import merchandise quickly without tariffs,
and where the government is widely considered predictable.
Chile ranked 41 on the World Bank's 2015 Ease of Doing Business
Index, while Argentina came in at 124, alongside countries like
Mozambique and Guyana.
"Whoever is the next president here (in Chile), it doesn't
really matter, because the morning after the election, the
country will keep working," said Felipe Noguiera, a
Santiago-based production head for Argentina's Jacaranda Films.
Although statistics are sparse, executives or producers at four
international production firms and Chile's major film equipment
contractor told Reuters that foreign shoots are on the rise in
Chile, and that their business has far exceeded expectations in
Santiago in the last four years.
[to top of second column] |
During that time, at least four Buenos Aires-based production
companies have opened offices or formed alliances in the Chilean
capital, citing a slowing Argentine industry.
Makers of car commercials in particular have flocked to Chile. In
addition to Cadillac, companies including Toyota, Subaru, Jaguar
Land Rover, Peugeot, Nissan, and Mercedes Benz, have shot ads in the
nation in the last three years.
"What has happened is that Argentina lost credibility," said
Sotomayor.
Joyce Zylberberg, the president of Chile's government-run Film
Commission, said the shift has also helped cultivate a creative
Renaissance in Chile, where directors like Pablo Larrain and Andres
Wood have made an impact internationally in recent years.
But not everyone is as sanguine about the national film scene.
Producers say a lack of creative talent in Chile relative to its
neighbor still forces them to import Argentine directors.
Argentine film-makers themselves insist that short-term economic
troubles will not overshadow their prospects in the long-term.
"We Argentines know crisis," said Ernesto Molino, a Cannes
award-winning production designer from Buenos Aires.
"And it's the crises, of course, not the good times, that breed
creativity."
(Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and W Simon)
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