At the 15th edition of the Bogotá Audiovisual Market (BAM), held July 9–13, 2024—and jointly organized by the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce and Proimágenes Colombia—the section Thinking Latin American Cinema was introduced as a think tank designed to spark debate around how Latin American cinema is currently taught, produced, discussed, and circulated. The program featured presentations by four professionals working across film production, exhibition, journalism, and programming.

The participants in this first edition of the think tank were Argentine programmer Cecilia Barrionuevo; Colombian director and producer Diana Bustamante; Mexican cultural organizer Carlos Gutiérrez, executive director of Cinema Tropical; and Dominican filmmaker and educator Pablo Lozano. The sessions were moderated by Gerardo Michelin, director of LatAm cinema.

Over the course of three days, each guest presented an individual talk, followed by a roundtable discussion open to all accredited attendees. The sessions were held in three 90-minute blocks. The following pages share the full texts of each presentation as an invitation to continue reflecting and engaging with the questions raised.

For the 16th edition of BAM in 2025, the experience launched last year will be expanded with a new edition of Thinking Latin American Cinema, featuring Colombian director, producer, and actor Vladimir Durán; Alexandra Galvis, vice president of CinemaChile and director of Market Chile; Brazilian critic and programmer Victor Guimarães; and Colombian critic and programmer Pedro Adrián Zuluaga. This edition will address issues related to film criticism, curatorship, distribution, and cinematic creation.

BAM will also present Close to the Future, a new space for debate developed in partnership with the Seminario de Públicos y Audiencias del Futuro (Mexico) and Cinema Tropical (United States), with a focus on the specificities of Latin America's exhibition ecosystems. In addition to the ongoing participation of representatives from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico, this space will feature presentations of strategies including Otros Ojos (Embassy of France in Colombia), Colombia de Película (DACMI), Temporada de Cine Colombiano, the French association Cinéphilae, and the distribution company Fuego Inextinguible Cine.

Special thanks to Carlos Eduardo Moreno, Andrés Suárez, and Santiago Parra.