Lured by Colombia’s coveted film incentives, new production shingle Miércoles Entertainment, co-founded by former Pantelion/Pantaya exec Paul Presburger, chose to shoot its first feature, “Belleza,” in Colombia.
“We shot Pantelion and Pantaya projects in Colombia in the past but we’ve never had a smoother production. Thanks to Daniel Hernández and the Secuoya team, we came in on budget,” Presburger notes.
Although set in Mexico, “Belleza” was shot entirely in Bogotá, across roughly half a dozen locations around the city in May. The idea was always to make it feel like Mexico City on screen, and Bogotá ended up working surprisingly well for that – its urban texture and variety of spaces made it a convincing stand-in, says Hernández, CEO of Secouya Studios Latin America.
According to Presburger, Secuoya handled both the production services and financing for the film, essentially cash-flowing the project. “We structured the financing and assembled the underlying deals, but as with most arrangements—whether with HBO, Cinépolis or other partners—those agreements are typically paid on delivery or when a specific exhibition window opens,” Presburger explains.
“Secuoya was able to capitalize those agreements, using them to help fund the film upfront. In that sense, Secuoya played a key role across multiple layers: providing production services, monetizing the tax credit and supporting cash flow throughout the production process.”
