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About K&S Films

Media: La Nación
Date: 01/26/08

The challenges of making movies for the great audience

Los responsables de Patagonik, Pampa Films y K&S Films, las tres grandes productoras de cine industrial de nuestro país, hablan de sus proyectos y estrategias

The people in charge of Patagonik, Pampa Films and K&S Films, the three large industrial cinema production companies in the country, talk about their projects and strategies. To approach different genres and try to give films an international renown. To generate projects with Argentine co-producers and, depending on the type of film, also with foreign partners. To combine quality cinema with cinema intended to reach the audience. These objectives signal the road of the big local companies, which drive the so-called “industrial cinema” (big budget productions, led by actors well-known to wider audiences), developed, mostly, by three Argentine companies: Patagonik, Pampa Films, and K&S Films. Interviewed by LA NACION, the production companies shared their strategies to find a place in the complex film market.

With new management (Juan Galli as general manager, Juan Vera as artistic director and Alejandro Cacetta in the business area), Patagonik took on the production of the second film by Paula Hernández, Lluvia. “We believe that this film is a good summary of the philosophy and production style we want in the company”, says Vera. Patagonik would like to produce four or five movies a year and with them, "reach different audience groups", as well as "a couple of mainstream events, with big stars, or films targeted at the great audience”, he adds. The plan includes “making one film a year for children, and one or two so-called “quality products”, with more emphasis on the writing side", such as Lluvia. He points out that “Paula Hernández is a combination of a kind of director of which there are few, who focus on the writing, and at the same time, incorporate the industrial factor of films. She believes that the audience is out there, and she's interested in reaching it with well-told stories, which are clear for the viewer but also present a challenge."

Out of the great number of Argentine movies premiered in 2007 (more than 80), only a few managed to bring audiences to the cinemas. The low box-office takings is not a minor matter at the time of doing the math. The producers agree that recovering costs in the local market is more difficult each time. “In order to reach a balance point for a medium-budget film, a lot more spectators are needed today. Producing a film with certain quality standards means involving more than one and a half million dollars. So, the risk goes up a lot," Vera points out, and gives an example: “If in 2000, 200 thousand viewers were needed to recover the investment costs of Apariencias, today we need twice as many. Five years ago, we exceeded that number. In fact, Apariencias had 850 thousand viewers.”

In view of that reality, the companies figure out different ways to produce their films. “Each project has its own nature and cost. Some films are co-produced, others are ours alone. But it is becoming vital to have a foreign partner, a Spanish one,” explains Vera, and adds: “Co-production is a good alternative. But if it becomes necessary for every project, it could unsettle the Argentine industry. Excessive dependency on a foreign market would condition production.”

In terms of alliances, associations between the “strong” production companies is common in the local industry. Patagonik is a minority partner of La señal, the film noir directed by Ricardo Darín and Martín Hodara, and the first production by Pampa Films (which, in turn, has a small percentage in Pérez 2, la verdadera historia).

A year ago, Pablo Bossi –one of the founders of Patagonik, who presided over it until his resignation, in 2005-, associated with the Spanish production company Filmax to create Pampa Films, and part of its managerial team is Juan Pablo Buscarini, director of the first part of Pérez the mouse and El arca. Seven films, among them, La Señal, which attracted 350 thousand viewers in Argentina, make up the production plans (see table) announced by Pampa. “In our company,” he adds, “the general guideline is for the producer to have more input in the origination and target of the film in order to promote and distribute it, as well as traveling to the markets. A film that is not shown does not sell, even if it is a masterpiece.”

The president of Pampa describes the scenario set by the local box-office. “The cost of a film like La Señal is 2 million dollars (500 thousand of which were contributed by Spain). We have to resort to co-producing with Spain,” Bossi adds, “because an investment of 6 million pesos in Argentina is not recoverable. Even if the movie gets a million viewers, which is very difficult. In 2007, none of the Argentine films achieved that number."

The profile of the films is key in the search for a better positioning of Argentine cinema in the cinema industry, Bossi says. In that regard, the producer describes some aspects of the type of films encouraged by Pampa: “One of our goals is to revitalize the star system a little, at least in Argentina, because it is very closely linked to TV." He explains that it is about generating films “with actors who have a local image or standing”, but with a view to “win over external markets”, such as Spain, Brazil and Mexico. “In Argentina, films of great genres have been made. And it worked, Bossi adds. I think the genre needs to be vindicated a bit in our film making. Obviously, focus it on the writing. There are certain rules that may be followed or broken voluntarily. But we must be aware that they exist, and that people expect certain things from a story told on the screen."

Created by Oscar Kramer and Hugo Sigman, K&S Films is responsible for films with outstanding national and international impact (Tiempo de valientes, El perro and Crónica de una fuga), apart from El camino de San Diego and El pasado), which were less successful at the box-office. “Four years ago, we announced that we would make five films and then we would evaluate the results,” say the producers of K&S, when asked by LA NACION. “Our global evaluation strategy shows that the results are financially neutral and very positive on the artistic side.” A new stage now begins for the company, with an identical strategy, "and a number of projects for the next two years", K&S Films continues, which considers including Argentine and foreign partners in their projects.

Once again backed up by the production company, Damián Szifrón and Adrián Caetano are working on their next films. The first one is giving the final touches to the screenplay of El Extranjero, which will begin shooting in July, 2008. A few months before, Caetano will direct a science-fiction and horror story based on a screenplay by the filmmaker, Cimarrón, with Pablo Echarri leading the cast. Furthermore, K&S has Eternauta, by Oesterheld, up its sleeve, still without a shooting date, and recently reached an agreement with the production company Cuatro Cabezas for an animated movie. “These projects do not exclude the possibility of new directors or scriptwriters, which we are always open to evaluate," adds Kramer, the company’s president, which has the support of Fox, the major American production company.

Julia Montesoro