MEXICO CITY -- Domestic filmmakers Friday celebrated new legislation guaranteeing them 10% of national screen time and a commercial release for all Mexican movies.
The long-awaited amendment to the 1992 Film Law also established a trust fund, Fidecine, for Mexican production, to be set up with an initial 100 million pesos ($10 million) of taxpayers' coin.
Ironically, much of the legislation has already been overtaken by events with a resurgence in Mexican cinema over the last two years seeing domestic pix's share of national box office rising from less than 3% in 1998 to around 13% in 2000.
At the same time, increasingly confident independent producers are turning more to private sources of funding and away from the state-sponsored Mexican Film Institute, Imcine, which will administer Fidecine.
Altavista Films' Oscar nominee, "Amores Perros" (Love's a Bitch), was made 100% with private capital, helping to spearhead the way in an industry where previously almost all movies were made with some cash from Imcine.
"The ball is in our court," said Ernesto Rimoch, prexy of the Mexican Assn. of Independent Producers. "It is now up to us as producers, directors, writers and actors to make quality movies."
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com