In March 2023, the government of Mexico City was proud to support so many filming in its confines. A great event led to it being named the Audiovisual Capital of Latin America, for serving as a setting for numerous film and television productions to take place. For the second consecutive year, the city also called CDMX maintained that same position, and with spectacular numbers.
Impact of filming in Mexico City
The Ministry of Culture of Mexico City, through the Filming Commission (CFILMA), accompanied by the National Chamber of the Film Industry (CANACINE) and the Mexican Association of AC Filmmakers (AMFI), presented the 2023 Statistical Yearbook. This highlighted the great performance of the film industry in that year, and presented figures that position the capital territory as one of the most important in the world. Below is a list of the most notable figures:
- More than $583 million pesos (MDP) in investment generated thanks to audiovisual production in CDMX during 2023.
- $34.6 million in economic benefits for the capital.
- 104 thousand jobs generated within the audiovisual industry, with a decrease of 8.3% compared to the previous year.
- 1,231 projects produced in all formats (films, television series, commercials, etc.), 4.5% less than the previous year.
- 11,921 locations throughout Mexico City.
- 15 mayoralties were the setting for at least one filming throughout the year.
- 5 municipalities represented 80% of the filmings: Cuauhtémoc (4,091), Miguel Hidalgo (1,689), Tlalpan (1,351), Coyoacán (1,281) and Álvaro Obregón (1,239); Milpa Alta was the only mayor's office without a single filming in its territorial limits.
- 21 of the productions were accredited as 100% Mexican.
- The latter were granted 487 permits.
- 2,875 foreign production companies appear in the Producer Registry.
- 333 of them (just 11.5%) are active.
- $2,662.7 million dollars (MDD) have been invested between 2019 and 2023. The strikes of actors and writers in the United States modified the upward trend due to their impacts in other countries.
- In the same period, 5,315 audiovisual projects were generated, and they generated economic resources of more than $146 million.
- During those four years, almost 500 thousand jobs were also generated thanks to the deployment of audiovisual productions.
Among the attendees who stood out at the event were Ms. Daniela Cordero, representative of Martí Batres, Head of Government of Mexico City; Indalí Pardillo Cadena, President of the Cultural Rights Commission in the Legislative Assembly; Claudia Stella Curiel de Icaza, Secretary of Culture of the Government of Mexico City; María Novaro Peñaloza, General Director of the Institute of Cinematography (IMCINE); and Joana Almeida de Sousa, Senior Manager of Economic Development and Infrastructure for Latin America at Amazon Studios, among many others.
The hard work of CFILMA
Those responsible for announcing the aforementioned figures highlighted the growth that has been generated in the last five years. Likewise, they thanked CFILMA for its work in granting all types of permits, ranging from filming on vehicular, pedestrian or cyclist traffic lanes, to the issuance of certificates.
“CFILMA's inter-institutional work is important to streamline procedures and services related to planning, filming and production; analyze the behavior of the sector, and promote film infrastructure and the constant updating of the location catalogue,” said Curiel de Icaza.
Filming permits, filming notices, and urgent filming permits were, according to the Yearbook, the most requested procedures during the 2023 Administrative Year. Of the permits issued by CFILMA, the following stand out: Roma Norte, Jardínes del Pedregal, Centro Historico, Centro and Juárez, as the most in-demand neighborhoods. As for production companies, 169 were reported to have entered the CFILMA Producers Catalog. They requested more than 2,650 permits throughout the entire Administrative Year, which speaks of an interest not only in establishing themselves, but in filming immediately.
This is the breakdown of permits granted according to the formats that were worked on in 2023:
- Television: 4,647 (59%)
- Cinema: 1,537 (19.5%)
- Commercial: 1,537 (19.5%)
- Still photo: 155 (2%)
Support and promotion of cinematographic advancement
As every year, various workshops were held in support of the audiovisual union. These were intended to improve and enhance the assets that promote the creation of content in Mexico City. There were master classes and informative talks with recognized figures from the Mexican industry, and there were even some Oscar nominees.
Among the participating experts, the following stood out:
- Isaac Ezban (director of films such as The evil eye and The incident)
- Carlos Taibo (producer of hits like Valentina's wedding, Everything wrong and Blacker than the night)
- Michelle Couttolenc and Jaime Baksht (Oscar-winning sound engineers for The sound of metal)
Other notable activities included the opening of 12 new locations in 6 municipalities of CDMX and the search for many more spaces that are expected to have at the close of the 2024 Administrative Year. Fortunately, the capital and its metropolitan area have also experienced growth in regarding availability of studios and recording and production forums. Currently there are almost 30 thousand square meters that facilitate the creative effort.
What does the future hold?
During the presentation of the Yearbook, Guillermo Saldaña, director of CFILMA, announced that they are working on an initiative to modify the Filming Law. This seeks to make the publication of the Statistical Yearbook of the Audiovisual Industry a mandatory exercise. It is hoped that transparency and accountability will become an incentive for more filmmakers to think of Mexico City as the perfect setting for their filming.
“The last five years of work have managed to consolidate our city as one of the favorite large venues in the world for filming, thanks to a public policy and a key regulatory framework. We went from being a bureaucratic management office to a facilitator of one of the most important creative and cultural sectors from an economic point of view and as a generator of jobs.”
The cinema will also reach other easily accessible spaces. According to the Ministry of Culture of Mexico City, the Yancuic Museum, recently inaugurated in the Iztapalapa mayor's office, will not only offer experiences related to nature and the plastic arts. It will also have movie screenings thanks to Canacine donating a projector for its facilities.
Finally, the implementation of the Cinematographic and Audiovisual Industry Certification (ICA) was announced, which represents a milestone in production for Mexico City. The ICA Certification is unique in its kind, and serves to guarantee the formality and good practices of audiovisual production companies. In short, the CDMX government seeks to ensure that filming is carried out under the highest standards of quality and transparency. At the end of the day, such a beautiful city deserves to be portrayed in as many productions as possible.
To have a better overview of the data presented by the Ministry of Culture of Mexico City, CFILMA, Canacine and Amfi, you can consult the Statistical Yearbook of the Audiovisual Industry here.
Juan Jose Cruz I am one of those who always defended Robert Pattinson as Batman and can see the same movie in the cinema up to 7 times. My guilty taste? Low-budget horror films.