One year after Carlos Pirovano assumed the presidency of the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA), the National Audiovisual Space has released a statement deeming his administration’s performance “highly negative.” Contrary to his promise to strictly enforce the National Cinema Law, Pirovano’s decisions have not only contradicted that legislation but, according to the industry, have led to an unprecedented deterioration of Argentina’s audiovisual ecosystem.
The most striking fact: not a single Argentine film has been approved during his term. This marks the first time in INCAA’s history that such a situation has occurred.
The most controversial measures include the elimination of traditional tools for promoting production, such as the “project pre-classification” mechanism—an essential system for production companies to plan their finances. Replacing subsidies with bank loans—an approach widely proven ineffective for the film industry—has proven unworkable. Additionally, decrees such as 662/2024 and 984/2024 have introduced new restrictions and retroactive rules that have led to the loss of funding, jobs, and feasibility for dozens of projects.
Moreover, the limitation on recognizing actual production costs and the dismantling of longstanding public competitions have left much of the industry without tools to operate.
Another critical point has been the dismantling of the national cinema exhibition and promotion system. Resolution 16/2024 cut funding to festivals and provincial organizations, while support mechanisms like the screen quota and launch assistance were eliminated. Meanwhile, the Gaumont Cinema—an emblem of Argentine filmmaking—has been overtaken by foreign films, and the Cine.ar platform was transferred to the Presidential Media Secretariat, casting doubt over its future. The result: in 2024, Argentine films accounted for just 2.19% of total box office revenue, a 60% drop from the previous year.
Internationally, INCAA abandoned the organization of Ventana Sur, the country’s main international film market, and withdrew financial support for films representing Argentina at global festivals, drastically reducing the visibility of Argentine cinema abroad.
Industry representatives claim they submitted concrete proposals to reactivate the sector while respecting and improving the current legal framework. They offered successful models from other countries and warned about the consequences of the decisions being made. They were not heard.
“Argentine cinema is going through an unprecedented crisis,” the document concludes, warning about the irreversible effects that these policies are already causing.
1. Elimination of Production Support Mechanisms
The elimination of “project pre-classification” has deprived production companies of the ability to plan around expected subsidies, complicating economic planning and the formalization of international co-productions. As a result, many productions with secured international funds had to forfeit them due to a lack of clear rules, affecting projects years in the making.
Implementing bank loans as a form of support has proven ineffective. Time and again, history has shown this model does not work for the film industry, given its unique economic cycle. Consequently, no production company has accessed these loans.
Decree 662/2024 imposed an unjustified restriction: a one-year waiting period before a company can apply for another subsidy after receiving one. This measure severely limits the development of production companies and, by extending the restriction to company members and administrators, disregards the principle of legal entity separation enshrined in the Argentine Civil and Commercial Code.
Attempting to amend previous errors, Decree 984/2024 only worsened the situation. Its retroactive application harmed ongoing productions by impacting financial planning for wages and social security payments. The arbitrary change in rules has led to substantial job losses in an already ailing industry.
The limitation of recognized production costs to 50% of actual expenses, without logical justification and in contradiction to the National Cinema Law, has severely hindered investment recovery.
Talent discovery competitions cannot substitute for the funding mechanisms established by the Cinema Law, which remain the main instruments for supporting film production.
2. Withdrawal of Support for National Film Promotion and Distribution
Resolution 16/2024 suspended financial support to festivals and provincial institutions, limiting the public’s access to diverse national cinema and benefiting only large international companies.
Tools such as screen quotas, the “average continuity” rule (which allowed successful films to remain in theaters), and launch support were eliminated, hampering release planning and reducing public access to national cinema.
The Gaumont Cinema, once envisioned as “the Teatro Colón of National Cinema,” is now screening international films—the same as commercial theaters—displacing Argentine films from its screens.
The Cine.ar platform was transferred to the Presidential Secretariat for Media and Communication, raising uncertainty about its future. As a result of these measures, Argentine cinema’s share of the box office in 2024 was the lowest ever recorded—just 2.19% of the total, a 60% decline from 2023.
3. Loss of International Presence
The government abandoned the organization of “Ventana Sur,” a key international market that, for over 15 years, served as a gateway for Argentine productions to reach global audiences.
Financial support was withdrawn from films participating in international festivals, reducing visibility and limiting market access for Argentine cinema. At the beginning of this administration, it was declared that “we would never see this President parading through film festivals.” However, recently, he appeared at the Berlin and Málaga festivals representing Argentine cinema—the very cinema his administration is actively preventing from being produced. Soon, the absence of our films in those spaces will become undeniable.
