Argentina Industry Crisis: Local Biz Fearful Ahead Of “Devastating” Reforms; Almodóvar, Iñárritu, Triet & More Sign Letter Condemning Far-Right Leader’s Plan To Scrap State Film Funding

Shortly before a momentous vote takes place in Argentina, Deadline spoke with leading film professionals about how “devastating” reforms could derail the country’s movie sector.

On Wednesday, the country’s new far-right President Javier Milei will try to push through a legislative program in Congress that aims to deregulate industries, expand presidential powers, silence dissenters and reimagine or do away with decades-old institutions.

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Often dubbed “El Loco” (The Madman) by his critics, Milei, a self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist,” only entered politics in 2021 after a colorful career as an economist and TV pundit. His election win late last year was seen by many as an anti-establishment vote fueled by anger over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.

Argentina’s economy, the second largest in South America, has been in a semi-permanent state of crisis since 2018. The country’s economic woes deepened over the past year, with inflation at a record high and more than 40% of Argentinians now living in poverty. The cultural industry is just one part of Argentinian life that is set for reforms as part of a radical reform package, which Milei believes will in some way rejuvenate the country but, in turn, threaten institutions that have been built over decades.

Milei’s theatrics and aggressive anti-establishment agenda have led many to draw comparisons to Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil — comparisons Milei has routinely welcomed.

“My alignment with Trump and Bolsonaro is almost natural,” Milei told local media during his presidential campaign.

Welcoming Milei’s election in November, Trump posted on Truth Social: “Make Argentina Great Again!”

The most controversial reforms cited in the president’s flagship :Omnibus Bill” — a radical, 664-article legislative proposal — include the disposal of primary elections, large-scale privatization of public companies, six-year prison sentences for citizens who organize protests, and the declaration of a public emergency until the end of 2025 that would allow the country’s executive branch to legislate without the scrutiny of Congress.

In terms of the film sector, the controversial bill aims to gut state support for local films by stripping the National Institute of Film and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) of most of its funding and eliminating funding to the state-run film school ENERC. The bill also calls for the elimination of a popular screen quota for Argentinian films in local cinemas.

“It would be the end of Argentinian cinema as we know it. It’s as simple as that,” veteran Los Angeles-based Argentinian producer Axel Kuschevatzky (Argentina, 1985) told Deadline of the bill. “Argentina will go from producing about 200 movies a year to producing a handful, and those films will be supported mostly by streamers.”

This week, the international film community has voiced its concern over the proposed sweeping changes. Pedro Almodóvar, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Justine Triet and Isabelle Huppert are among film luminaries who have signed a letter (organized by local film union Cine Argentino Unido) supporting Argentinian filmmakers against the cuts.

What’s At Stake?

State funding for cinema in Argentina is unique. It’s fueled by what locals describe as two “self-funded” cash pots: The first composed of a tax on cinema tickets, followed by cash receipts from a government levy on broadcasting companies. Milei’s bill proposes the elimination of the latter, which funds the bulk of state packages. State awards rarely creep beyond 20% of a local feature’s overall budget, so the bulk of Argentinian projects are typically completed with private money and the help of international co-productions.

This system dates to 1994 and the inception of Argentina’s Cinema Law. Local producers and industry professionals energetically lobbied central government for the legislation following a lengthy period of industry decline; between 1993 and 1994, only seven films were produced locally. The Cinema Law is now widely considered to be the key factor in the growth of national film production, launching the careers of some of the country’s most respected new wave filmmakers such as Lucrecia Martel (La Ciénaga), Bruno Stagnaro (Pizza, Beer, and Cigarettes) and Pablo Trapero (The Quietude).

“The 1994 film law created the film development fund, making state support for film production possible and activating an industrial ecosystem that strengthened over the years,” said Vanessa Ragone, producer of the 2009 Oscar-winning Argentinian hit The Secret in Their Eyes.

“It’s hard to understand why the government wants to disorganize a cultural and economic activity that is functioning very well. I can imagine that it might be due to a certain lack of knowledge about the sector. It’s regrettable that the government has not approached the sector to understand its needs.”

Taking direct aim at Milei, the group’s letter reads: “The mega draft bill implies the destruction of the National Film Institute (INCAA) and with it, the eight branches of the National Film School (ENERC), an institution that provides free high-quality public education in all regions of the country. In this way, the new government, under the pretext of economic efficiency, seeks to deprive society of a vital tool for exercising citizenship: culture.

“Today, the film industry involves tens of thousands of quality jobs and trains professionals who collaborate in co-productions around the world. Year after year, Argentine cinema is present at the Cannes, Berlin, San Sebastián, and Venice festivals, among many others, offering the world our perspective, our stories, and our identity. None of this would have been possible without public policies which promote culture and without the Film Law that provides specific funds for the activity.”

Milei and his government ministers have largely avoided or deflected scrutiny of their bill in both the media and Congress. Speaking at a committee hearing last week, however, culture secretary Leonardo Cifelli said, “There is no money [to spend on film]. It’s not a motto, it’s a reality” when quizzed on the impact cutbacks could have on the future of INCAA, local media reported.

One local filmmaker who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity described Cifelli’s intervention and arguments based around the national purse as lazy distractions from a clear and misguided political attack against the country’s filmmaking community.

“It’s solely political and it’s because this right-wing government thinks all filmmakers are leftist, which, of course, is not true. You have a lot of diversity in every country,” the filmmaker said.

“Cautionary Tale”

Milei, whose party holds only a tiny minority of seats in Congress, is set to present the bill to legislators today for final approval. To vote on the bill, lawmakers must first agree on a final version of the document — a process that will likely include changes to the original bill. Pressure from opposition benches has already forced the president to row back on plans to privatize the state oil company YPF.

“We still cannot begin to envision the impact these measures will have if the law is approved by parliament. We know it will be devastating, as it will eliminate all predictability for structuring a film project,” Ragone said.

“Unlike most countries with powerful film industries, the activity will be left to the mercy of the market, without screen quotas for Argentinian cinema. This will result in the loss of diversity of voices and make it nearly impossible to finance independent projects that are not funded by major studios, platforms, or private means.”

Another producer said film professionals across the world should take Milei’s bill as a “cautionary tale.”

“It could happen anywhere,” they said. “The money that supports Milei’s ideas fund leaders across the world.”

Here’s the full Cine Argentino Unido letter:

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