Latin America’s Film Industry Navigates Opportunity Amongst Price Pressures, Streaming Shifts and Financing Fragility

San SEBASTIÁN, Spain — Latin American cinema has the talent, but the economics requires creativity, producers and financiers warned at San Sebastián’s Latin America’s Global Reach panel, part of its Creative Investors’ Conference. Volatile state funding, low price points and the fragmentation of distribution make the creativity of producers paramount. Six takeaways from the session:

Room for Action

For Amazon MGM Studios’ Javiera Balmaceda, the way forward lies partly in genres not traditionally associated with the region. “Sayen,” produced by Fabula, a Chilean environmental actioner, travelled widely across Latin America and into Europe, emboldening Amazon to put its upcoming Mexican action thriller “Venganza” into theaters.

That strategy is backed by corporate heft. “Amazon bought MGM, which is a huge theatrical distributor,” Balmaceda reminded the audience. “It’s additive, a great opportunity for word of mouth — people go to theaters, get that experience, and then hopefully see it again at home,…