Five Below-the-Line Talents to Track in Colombia
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- Colombia offers incentives and rates that can shave as much as 50% off a production budget, but the Variety profile positions its 'exceptional film crews' — experienced, versatile, and can-do — as the country's greater asset.
- Andres Barrientos, a 1st AD named one of 25 Gems of Colombian Cinema, worked on Christopher Nolan's 'Tenet' — coordinating what may be Hollywood's largest road lock-up, nearly six miles in Estonia — and Zack Snyder's 'The Last Photograph,' where Snyder's pace meant up to 68 set-ups in a day.
- Wilmar Benavides, a gaffer for the past 11 years, has credits including 'Always a Witch' (battling Cartagena's fierce winds) and 'Fake Profile' (elaborate lighting rigs for yacht chases), and he deliberately avoids Hollywood's saturated blue day-for-night look in favor of softer, greener lighting.
- Diego Gallego, the cinematographer who shot 'Embrace of the Serpent' in 35mm black and white in the Amazon — earning Colombia's first Academy Award nomination and multiple best-cinematography awards for Gallego himself — now has credits including the Emmy-winning 'Rebel Ridge' and Netflix's upcoming political thriller 'Palace.'
- Cristina Medina Trujillo, a production designer with 25 years and 20+ series to her credit, designed and built Colombia's first aircraft set equipped with a turbulence system for Netflix's 'How to Lose it All' — one of the largest and most complex constructions of her career.
Why it matters: Colombia is pitching itself as a full-stack destination for international productions, combining up to 50% budget savings with crews who have graduated from 'Tenet,' 'Jack Ryan,' and 'Paddington in Peru.' With Netflix's 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' training a new generation, the country's pitch to incoming period productions will hinge on preserving and adapting historic locations — a challenge the article flags as the industry's next test.
