The First International Meeting of Cities will take place Aug. 12-14 at the Gramado Film Market and will gather municipal-level authorities from such major towns as Medellín, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Maricá and fest-host Gramado as well as representatives of Brazilian and Ibero-American organizations to discuss how the creative economy — particularly the audiovisual industry — can contribute to social and economic development.
The program will highlight the successful cases of the 2.4-million-strong city of Medellín, Colombia, and Gramado, a tourist town with 40,000 residents in Southern Brazil, said Ralfe Cardoso, general coordinator of the Gramado Film Market.
Maria Fernanda Galeano Rojo, Medellín’s secretary of economic development, and Karla Valderrama, coordinator of the city’s film commission, will present in a panel the Colombian city’s experience in urban transformation — considered a model for other cities in Latin America — innovation, attracting audiovisual productions, and promoting economic and social development through the creative economy.
As for Gramado, Cardoso said the 54 consecutive annual editions of the film fest were a major driver turning the town into one of Brazil’s best-known tourist destinations. Gramado, in the mountains of Brazil’s southernmost state Rio Grande do Sul, offers European-inspired architecture, a strong gastronomic scene and several entertainment-themed complexes.
