Uruguay to Host International Film Production Training Workshop, Welcomes High-Profile Industry Figures From Europe

Uruguay has enlisted prominent film industry figures from Europe and Latin America for a training workshop.

The workshop will be held from Nov. 25-30 and has invited five Latin American and five European audiovisual professionals, Fox News Latino reported from news agency EFE. Uruguayan producer Fernando Epstein, a member of the Puentes Internacional team, said that trainees will attend a second workshop in Locarno, Switzerland in Aug. 2016, a few days before the city's international film festival.

The European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE) supports the workshops. The organization "promotes training, project development and the creation of networks for audiovisual producers," Fox News Latino added. Epstein said that the project aims to introduce workshop participants to the "work philosophy" of the movie industry's experts, the news outlet noted.

Some of the workshop's trainers are France's Jean des Forêts, who will lecture on script writing; Britain's Alan Fountain, who has developed projects for the BBC; and Spanish-Colombian Sarah Calderon, who will discuss marketing in the film industry, Fox News Latino listed. The workshop is open for registration until Oct. 19.

According to Epstein, Puentes Internacional aspires to develop into "a space for training executive producers," since movie education for professionals at Uruguay's film schools "was lacking," Fox News Latino reported. Epstein, who also founded Uruguay's Mutante Films, has worked on box-office hits like this year's "El 5 de Talleres," which was directed by Argentine Adrian Biniez and starred Diego Mattioli, Néstor Guzzini, and Esteban Lamothe.

Martin Scorsese Calls for Uruguay's Filmmaking Support

Just recently, acclaimed director Martin Scorsese helmed a videotaped message urging the Uruguayan government's assistance in "the cinema, the authors, and their Cinematheque (Film Library)" despite the crisis the country's audiovisual sector is currently going through, according to a separate report from Fox News Latino.

The video was posted at LALA, a social networking platform for media artists, and was spearheaded by Uruguayan Martin Sastre, the news outlet wrote. It is part of LALA's campaign to boost awareness for the critical financial state of the Uruguayan Film Library.

General coordinator Maria Jose Santacreu said that the South American country's filmmaking institution is at its low point. More than 10,000 signatures were collected for a petition launched on social media platforms aimed to raise awareness for the organization's grave situation. The Uruguayan Film Library's circumstances also sparked discussions about "local media, the political realm, and within the Uruguayan government itself," Fox News Latino added.

Film Producers Association (ASOPROD) representative Esteban Schroeder said in August that the downfall of Uruguay's film industry should be blamed to the government's little support for local movies, Fox News Latino noted.