News that Netflix's most ambitious series in Latin America, One Hundred Years of Solitude, has injected more than $52 million (COP225 billion) into the Colombian economy has come as a relief to the thousands of locals who contributed to its production. The amounts reported take into account both direct costs and wider knock-on effects throughout the supply chain.

The two-part Spanish-language series about the Buendia family is helmed by Colombian powerhouse Dynamo ("Narcos," "Echo 3") and employs about 900 crew members, 150 craftsmen, thousands of extras and working with more than 850 vendors. Build the fabulous town of Macondo from scratch. During the filming of the first season of "One Hundred Years of Solitude", more than 100,000 hotel nights were booked in the town of Ibag.

Indeed, the series, adapted from Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez’s 1967 masterpiece, cements Colombia’s status as a premier destination for international productions, highlighting the diversity of its landscapes, Outstanding talent and first-class service.

Andrés Calderón, co-founder and CEO of Dynamo, said: “I believe what we have achieved here is the ability to learn from previous projects, both at our own level Still on the service side,” with co-founder Diego Ramírez Schrempp, who comes from the world of business and finance.

“If we compare it to previous projects, we almost always had to hire department heads from abroad, whether it was Mexico or Spain, whereas now, to some extent, we have managed to get most of the department heads It's Colombian. I think for me that's one of the most rewarding aspects," he added.

Paco Ramos, vice president of content for Latin America at Netflix, said at a show launch in Los Angeles: “‘100’ is proof of what Latinos can achieve when they come together with a common goal. Huge achievement. ” would say that 98% of the people who make this show are from Colombia. "

"This has been the most personal journey for me and I have a close connection with my family," he said typeadding that the author's son Rodrigo García is himself a filmmaker, while Gonzalo García serves as executive producer.

“Latin America is growing tremendously in terms of cast, crew and craftsmen; we have more highly qualified people who are now able to make a living from their craft,” he noted, adding: “Since Netflix’s partnership with Club de los It’s been 10 years since Cuervos launched Latino, and it’s amazing how far we’ve come,” Ramos said.

Rodrigo Garcia explained in a speech in Los Angeles that his father did not want to adapt the book, preferring "that the book live in the imagination of the reader." "But there were also practical considerations, it wasn't suitable for a two-hour, three-hour or even four-hour film. And then the costs at the time meant it had to be done in English by a Hollywood star. He was totally against it. But he did sometimes wonder if it could Done in Spanish and Colombia in a few hours and he'll think about it and that's part two and part three, luckily for me and my brother he always said when I die, do you. I wanted to do something, so I did a lot of therapy,” he said with a smile.

Incentives

Colombia's position is further strengthened by an attractive production incentive framework. Because of this, more international production companies are beginning to take advantage of its location.

Netflix took advantage of CINA's incentives in "100 Years." This is a 35% tax rebate on location filming costs for international projects. It includes audiovisual and logistical services contracted with Colombian individuals or companies. CINA can be transferred to Colombian income tax filers as a tax discount, up to an annual maximum amount set by the Colombian Film Promotion Council.

“One Hundred Years of Solitude is without a doubt the largest and most important project to take advantage of this incentive, as is the second season, which is currently being filmed,” said Colombian Film Commissioner Sylvia Echeve Silvia Echeverri said.

“We work closely with more than 30 production services companies that successfully operate within the incentive system. The system is designed to be self-sustaining and ensures that foreign producers donate 5% of their project’s qualifying expenditure directly to the Colombian Film Commission. These donations provide us with to fund operations, promotional activities and communications efforts. Notably, approximately 50% of the resources we collect are invested in training and education programs, contributing to the continued growth and development of the industry,” she noted.

Since the enactment of Law 814 of 2003, Colombia has also benefited from the Film Development Fund managed by Proimágenes Colombia, headed by Claudia Triana.

The Colombian Film Fund (FFC) offers a cash rebate covering 40% of the cost of audiovisual services and 20% of logistical costs such as hotel accommodation, food and transportation. The incentive also requires the participation of a Colombian producer or production services company.

Local producers can take advantage of the fund but not the CINA incentives, while international producers can choose to take advantage of one or the other but not both.

FFC stimulates local production. According to Proimágenes, 2024 will break records and become the year with the most theatrical releases in Colombia. Between January and November, 70 local feature films premiered, followed by two more films in the first week of December. With two more films scheduled to be released later this month, the total number of films is expected to reach 74.

Place

According to Calderón, the biggest challenge in the production was in the first episode, when José Arcadio Buendía leads his family and neighbors on an exodus to find the sea and build their utopian village of Macondo. That means traveling through nearly half of Colombia, he said, from the peaks of Paramod Chigasa to the mangrove swamps of the Magdalena/La Guajira border.

He claimed that building the Macondo set from scratch in Tolima meant not only learning how to build the set, but also building roads, installing drainage and providing electricity to the 5,812,506 square feet (133.4 acres) of undeveloped territory.

"Colombia's geography is extremely challenging, full of mountains, swamps and jungles, which has led to the establishment of towns in some of the most difficult areas. This reality shapes us Colombians and determines how we adapt," Echeverri said. and persistence. Our stories are deeply connected to this exotic and demanding landscape, reflecting how we learn to live with each other and our environment every day.”

"Typically, Colombian town squares have a central tree from which everything branches off. The town is organized around this focal point - the tree, the square, the ever-present church and political centers like the town hall. This layout is a recurring and defining feature of Colombian towns and cities,” notes executive producer Carolina Caicedo.

Given that each season's eight episodes span 50 years, "the challenge, both for the location and, more broadly, for the story, was the passage of time — capturing it in a way that was both telling and visible on screen," she added.

Talent

The epic series is dominated by Colombian female talent across multiple departments, including executive producers Caicedo and Juliana Flores Luna, co-director Laura Mora, AD Crow Dia Barragan and Camila Rodríguez Beltran, costume designer Catherine Rodriguez, VFX expert Andrea Espinal, founder of Folks Bogotá and with Ho Co-writer Natalia Santa, who worked with José Rivera Santa) and Camila Brugés Albatross Gonzalez.

"My team is predominantly made up of women, from department heads to assistants. It's not intentional - we just tend to work with women. Many of my team members worked with me on my films Killing Jesus and ‘Lord of the World,’ which also has a majority of women,” Mora said.

Starring: veteran film actress Marleydo Soto (who makes her TV debut as Ursula, the matriarch of the Buendia family), and ballerina Susana Morales, who has no acting experience Morales, who plays young Ursula.

For the protagonist, Claudio Cattanio, who plays Colonel Aureliano Buendia, he worked with coach Barbara Perea for six months. "It's not just about the accent, although we worked on that, but it's more about the essence of the character: the way he breathes, talks and moves," he said, adding: "The character The unique advantage was the opportunity to study and shape the character's entire life, from adolescence to old age, which allowed me to portray a complete evolution in formal terms: the energy and vitality of youth, the strength and complexity of adulthood. The decline of old age.”

"Preparing for this role involves physical, tonal, interpretive and emotional work, as each stage of the character's life has its own moments and emotional nuances," he added.

The series' soundtrack has a distinctly Colombian essence, including contributions from Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto, Toto La Momposina drummer Carmelo Torres and Víctor Navarro.

storytelling

Adapting content that had long been considered unsuitable required years of preparation in every aspect of the production. For the writing team, this meant extensive research into the period depicted in the book. "We wanted to stay true to what that area looked like over those hundred years. However, we also drew inspiration from what Gabo (Garcia Márquez) was trying to achieve. He wrote not a historical work but a A work of fiction, with a certain creative freedom. That’s why it’s fascinating to find a balance between accuracy and creative freedom, because we’re not making a documentary about Colombia,” Brugges said.

"We are often asked whether our adaptation is meant to be universally applicable or specifically aimed at Colombians. From our perspective, we just try to stay true to the novel, which naturally makes it Colombian but also universal," she pointed out.

Delving further into the writing process, she added: "We didn't change the novel's written scenes; we just changed the novel's plot." Instead, we focused on two areas: first, organizing the non-linear narrative. Gabor's temporal changes require us to organize events chronologically and resolve inconsistencies to achieve dramatic coherence. "

“Second, expand on the implied moment. For example, he often summarizes scenes as ‘dream love’ without detailed dialogue or action. We interpret these to create scenes and dialogue that capture the essence and poetic tone of the story ," she continued.

For Maura, who is more accustomed to working on location, the challenge was adapting to working on set: “I’m obsessed with making the town feel real and not like a set. For me personally, working with so many people Working together on such a massive production, there are no small scenes in One Hundred Years of Solitude, even if the script simply says "Ursula walks down the street," that means 120 extras, carriages, animals,... Wind, hours of clothing fittings and prosthetics.”

"Time is a huge challenge for directors. How much time do you really need to shoot, and how much time do you need to prepare? It takes a lot of planning and coordination," she muses.