The regional cooperation in cinema industry of Iberoamerican countries

Abstract

Iberoamerican countries have been developing regional integration in cinema industry since 1960. The advantages of the integration were the reduction of the cost of producing films and the expansion of their distribution in local film markets. The fund for financing the production of films that has the longest history and the most widespread recognition in this region is the Ibermedia program, which has been functioning since the end of the 20th century. The article analyses the structure of film distribution of Iberoamerican countries: at the beginning of the XXI century the share of films produced by the USA in cinema was an average of 84%. The low representation of Iberoamerican films is partially compensated by Ibermedia-TV, which collects up to 500 million views. In contrast to the expansion of American film producers, the countries of the region are developing co-production (mainly with each other) under the Ibermedia program. The co-production leads to the growth of the cinema industry in Colombia and Chile. Co-production also plays the key role in both the production and distribution of films for the worldwide noticeable leaders of the region – Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Mexico. The main contribution to the development of cinema industry in Iberoamerica is the regional integration driven by Ibermedia.