Colombia’s Bogotá Audiovisual Market (BAM) has wrapped its 17th Edition July 10 with an uptick in attendance. The numbers say it all: 2,336 accredited participants and 271 industry activities and 882 one-on-one business meetings connecting selected projects with a host of international guests, advisors and potential partners.

“BAM once again showed that Colombia has world-class stories to tell and the talent to bring them to global audiences. We’re confident that many of the projects that came through the market leave stronger than they arrived—and one step closer to becoming the films, series, and audiovisual experiences audiences will see in the years ahead,” said BAM director Carlos Eduardo Moreno.

The ever-expanding five-day event was packed with panels, masterclasses and training sessions among a dizzying array of activities. It only paused when Colombia played against Switzerland in its failed bid to make the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup on July 8. Even the traffic-clogged streets of Bogotá went virtually silent.

This year’s edition awarded 70 in-kind prizes from national and international partners to selected projects and emerging talent across various categories including Fiction Films, Documentaries, Series, Rough Features, Animation, Rough Shorts and Bammers. Among the big winners was José Luis Rugeles and Ana María Tarazona of Rhayuela, who took home five awards for their TV series project, “Rookies” (“Oficina de Detectives”).

Among documentary feature contenders, “La Sombra de Yolüja” by Hanz Rippe Gabriel and Fernanda Pineda and “De la Villa” by Mónica Taboada and Beto Rosero split the prizes.

Meanwhile, Agamenón Quintero’s “De naranjas y otros demonios” snagged the most awards in the fiction feature section.

Organized by Proimágenes Colombia and the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, BAM remains a key engine driving Latin America’s audiovisual sector.

TIS Studios Opens Massive 18,300-Square-Foot Stage 7, VFX Companies Folks, Loma Expand Clientele

BAM took place just as TIS Studios, which has hosted a slew of high-profile projects, announced the opening of Stage 7, a new 18,300-square-foot soundstage, primed to host large-scale international film and TV productions.

“TIS Studios brings highly trained crews, international production standards and the protocols to manage large-scale projects, all backed by nearly three decades of delivering premium content,” said Samuel Duque, president of TIS Studios. “Stage 7 adds to that foundation. Combined with Colombia’s production incentives, it gives producers, showrunners and production studios around the world one more reason to bring their most ambitious projects here.”

The launch of Stage 7 marks the next phase in TIS Studios’ expansion, building on nearly 30 years of production expertise and a track record of projects for major global platforms and networks including Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Paramount, CBS Studios, MTV, Fox Television Studios, Nickelodeon, NBCUniversal and Telemundo.

At 18,300 square feet and 40 feet high, Stage 7 is Colombia’s largest soundstage and one of the biggest in Latin America.

Meanwhile, VFX company Folks Bogotá, run by Andrea Espinal, has attracted a slew of international projects to its studio, lured by its highly competitive rates.

The shows it has serviced include Netflix’s epic “One Hundred Years of Solitude,” Taylor Sheridan’s “1883” and “Lioness” (Seasons I and II), Rodrigo Prieto’s directorial feature debut “Pedro Páramo,” AppleTV’s “The Morning Show” and survival horror pic “Boiúna: Legend of the Amazon,” formerly titled “Titan,” which shot in the Colombian Amazon.

Launched in 2019 under Espinal, Folks Bogotá studio was established to harness Colombia’s creative talent for high-end VFX productions. What began by supporting the Montreal team grew into a full-service studio delivering visual effects for major Latin American and international titles.

Another burgeoning VFX company, Loma, with deep roots as a family-owned rental equipment company, has expanded into the virtual production business. Its 200-square-meter virtual production studio combines custom LED volumes with real-time technologies including Unreal Engine, camera tracking and media servers to deliver in-camera VFX and extended reality (xR) productions.

Run by COO Francisco Forero, the Bogotá-based facility supports feature films, series, commercials, live broadcasts and R&D projects, offering filmmakers a state-of-the-art environment for virtual production and next-generation visual effects workflows.

Among some of the shows they have serviced are Netflix’s fact-based skyjacking series “The Hijacking of Flight 601,” SPT’s “Hasta que amanezca” and “Como perderlo todo” from Dago Prods. as well as BAM’s Vaivén, a large-scale immersive audiovisual installation created by artist collective Project Aurora.

Not surprisingly, its biggest client, as is the case with TIS’ and Folks,’ is Netflix, which has continued to grow its slate in Colombia, recently tapping Ana Maria Londoño as Head of Content in Bogotá.

Venezuelan Filmmaker Mariana Rondón Reflects on ‘All Her Nights Without Caracas’

Taking the stage for her BAM Talk, Venezuelan filmmaker Mariana Rondón reflected on her path to cinema, from her award-winning “Bad Hair” (“Pelo malo”) to her latest feature, “It Would Be Night in Caracas,” produced by Edgar Ramírez.

Rondón revealed that her creative journey began with an unexpected fascination: genetics. She spent a decade developing her own “genetic laboratory” through art, creating an installation that imagined transgenic beings and produced just 12 seconds of moving imagery. “That process transformed my understanding of cinema: powerful stories can begin with an image, not only with a script,” she said, emphasizing the emotional power of images to generate curiosity, wonder, and meaning.

The Venezuelan exodus later reshaped her artistic focus. “Seeing people walk from Venezuela all the way to Chile—step by step, crossing borders on foot—felt almost biblical,” she said, describing a crisis that forced many, including herself, to rethink identity, belonging and the possibility of imagining a future.

Unable to film “It Would Be Night in Caracas” in the Venezuelan capital, Rondón and her co-director Marité Ugas recreated the city in Mexico, working with hundreds of displaced Venezuelans. During scenes recreating protests, the boundary between fiction and reality collapsed. “We would call ‘cut,’ but there was no way to stop,” she recalled. Many participants were reliving their own experiences, leading the production to provide psychological support.

Ultimately, the film became an act of reconstruction – a way to reconnect with a country many had lost and to explore identity through cinema. “That question of identity is at the heart of why we make films,” she said.

Colombia’s Film Boom Has a Sustainability Problem

A new industry study presented at BAM confirms the historic impact of Colombia’s Film Law 814, which, through the Film Development Fund (FDC) and tax incentives, transformed the country into a thriving production hub. Between 2015 and 2025, Colombia released 548 feature films—compared with roughly two per year before 2003—with public support and tax incentives financing more than half of them and attracting around $160 million in private investment.

But the study also reveals a major challenge: production growth has not translated into stronger companies. Only 25% of production houses supported by the FDC or tax incentives have returned for a second project, leaving 75% unable to build long-term capacity. With most companies operating with just two employees and cinema representing only part of their revenue, the report warns that Colombia is successfully financing films—but not yet building sustainable film businesses.

The study proposes 12 strategies to strengthen the ecosystem, including expanding funding tools, improving tax incentives, supporting distribution and promotion, and recognizing the operational costs needed to build resilient production companies.

“The study confirms the need for a more integrated approach to film policy. 26 years ago, the priority was to create Colombian films. Today, those films exist—but their market share remains minimal, and they are still not reaching audiences,” said producer-director Cristina Gallego (“Birds of Passage”), who led the panel.

“We need to embrace technological change and incorporate it into financing strategies, moving beyond fragmented interests. Screenwriters, regional filmmakers, workers, festivals, producers, distributors, and public institutions—including the ministries of culture, education, technology, and commerce—all have a stake in the audiovisual sector, yet they often operate separately,” she added.

“Without a sustainable ecosystem that supports both companies—production and distribution—and the people who power the industry, long-term growth will remain impossible.”

A 26-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Ann Widdecombe, a former British member of Parliament and reality TV contestant, police said.

Widdecombe, 78, was found dead Thursday in her home on the edge of Dartmoor National Park in southwest England. Authorities said she died of serious injuries, Reuters reported.

The name of the suspect has not been released.

LABOUR MP PUTS CABINET ‘ON NOTICE,’ THREATENS TO TRIGGER LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE AGAINST STARMER BY MONDAY

“This is really shocking news, and my thoughts, I think all of our thoughts, will be with the family and friends of Ann Widdecombe at this awful time,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. “Ann was a distinguished politician over many, many years with many achievements, and it’s a huge, huge loss.”

Investigators don’t believe the killing was politically motivated, Devon and Cornwall Police Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman said.

“Our murder enquiry is in its early stages but moving at a significant pace,” ​Devon and Cornwall Police said in a statement.

Starmer said the security of lawmakers was “of the utmost importance,” and urged people to rise above political differences.

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER FACES POTENTIAL LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE FROM NEWLY-ELECTED ANDY BURNHAM

Widdecombe served in Parliament, but found fame after leaving office as a contestant on the Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother reality television shows. She later joined the Brexit Party and became a spokeswoman for the anti-mass migration Reform UK party.

In a post on X, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Widdecombe “a heroic Brexiteer and a great speaker who could move Tory audiences to such ecstasy that she was a very hard act to follow.”

Cloud9 Management, which represented Widdecombe for more than a decade, said her life was driven by her “strong Christian values and commitment to public service.”

“She loved the cut and thrust of political debate and, 16 years after leaving Parliament, was still actively campaigning for Reform UK and offering forthright views on the hot topics of the day across numerous radio and television programmes (sic). Ann was a valued patron of many causes, particularly her animal charities,” the company said in a social media post.

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In the past decade, two serving British members of parliament have ​been murdered.

In the midst of the Brexit campaign of 2016, Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed by a Nazi-obsessed loner. Conservative lawmaker David Amess was fatally stabbed in 2021 by a man inspired by the ‌Islamic State terror group.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Super Typhoon Bavi has been downgraded but is still dangerous, meteorologists say.

More than 600,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in China as Typhoon Bavi barrels towards the country after hitting Japan’s Sakishima islands and grazing northern Taiwan.

Chinese authorities said on Saturday more than half a million people were evacuated in the eastern Zhejiang province and another 100,000 in neighbouring Fujian province.

Bavi is expected to make landfall in Wenzhou, a densely populated city in Zhejiang, in the early hours of Sunday, and is expected to bring heavy rains.

Although significantly weakened since it thundered through the US Pacific islands on Monday and tracked northwest, Typhoon Bavi remains a significant risk due to the large volumes of moisture it carries in its rain bands.

In China, the national weather agency issued an orange typhoon alert – the second-highest on a four-level rating. Hundreds of flights have been cancelled, rail travel services have been reduced, and many schools and ferry services have been suspended.

“I’m a little worried, but I think it’ll be OK,” Wenzhou resident Huang Xinghuan, 50, told Reuters news agency while buying groceries at a traditional wet market before it closed ahead of the typhoon.

His family, he said, had stocked about two or three days’ water, and food supplies remain guaranteed.

“We’ve been through typhoons before. We’ll get through it,” he added.

In Ningde city, Fujian province, more than 3,700 people were evacuated from high-risk onshore areas by Friday evening, Xinhua news agency said. Authorities there have placed more than 17,000 emergency rescue workers on standby.

Meanwhile, China’s southern region of Hainan and Guangxi are still reeling from the effects of Tropical Storm Maysak earlier this week. At least 39 people died in the city of Nanning, where a breached dam sent torrents of water through the streets.

Philippines records deaths, Taiwan escapes casualties

At least 17 people were killed in the Philippines after heavy rains brought on by an enhanced southwest monsoon and worsened by Bavi’s impact triggered landslides overnight on Friday.

In Taiwan, where Bavi is expected to sweep past on Saturday according to the island’s Central Weather Administration, at least 36 people have been injured – mainly while riding motorcycles on slippery roads in the heavy rain and winds.

Some 14,210 people were evacuated across the island by Saturday morning, particularly from the city of Taichung and the county of Hualien. Schools, offices and most restaurants across Taiwan have been closed.

Meanwhile, more than 200 flights were cancelled across Japan as authorities in the southern Okinawa prefecture warned of high waves, strong winds and storm surges. Strong winds and rain have hit the southern Sakishima island chain – administered under Okinawa – since Friday.