Alarm bells are sounding again over the fate of Argentina’s beleaguered film-TV body, INCAA. A draft proposal from the administration of right-wing populist president Javier Milei includes a repeal of key articles that will impact the institute. These articles currently guarantee dedicated funding for INCAA, mostly drawn from box office receipts.
While the bill does not formally dissolve INCAA, industry reps warn that eliminating its specific funding sources would effectively weaken the institution by forcing it to depend on general allocations from the National Treasury. This could threaten Argentina’s already declining audiovisual sector.
FIPCA, the Ibero-American Federation of Cinematographic and Audiovisual Production, has lodged a petition urging members of Argentina’s congress to prevent what it describes as an “audiovisual blackout” in the country. Its senate is slated to debate the new bill on Feb. 11.
The petition has been signed by a wide swathe of industry leaders across Ibero-America. Among the more than 800 signatories are Pedro Almodovar, Spanish producer Juan Gordon of Morena Films, Argentine star Adrian Suar, Chile’s Andrés Wood (“The House of the Spirits,” premiering in Berlin) and Argentine director Marcos Carnevale (“Heart of Lion”).
“The future of Argentina’s audiovisual production is going through a critical moment. The potential loss of its historic sources of financing places the industry at a crossroads that demands rigor: audiovisual production is not a decorative activity, but an industry that competes in global markets and in every country with significant output, operates under specific public policies,” FIPCA president Ignacio Rey told Variety.
“Within that same bill there is an article that repeals three articles of the Film Law – specifically the ones that provide INCAA with its earmarked funds. That is, it eliminates the 20% tax on movie tickets that has existed for 60 years, as well as two other revenue sources that were established in the 1994 reform of the law. This leaves INCAA at the mercy of the Ministry of Economy to grant whatever amounts it chooses, whenever it chooses,” explained Gabriela Sandoval, FIPCA vice president.
Chile’s Gabriela Sandoval, Fipca VP, Co-Founder Storyboard Media. Courtesy of Fipca
“This change could significantly limit the institute’s operational capacity and jeopardize the continuity of an industry that generates employment, exports services and contributes high value-added economic activity across the country,” FIPCA stated in its petition.
Rey cited the case of Brazil: “Before 2019, with [Brazil’s film-TV body] ANCINE active, the sector was growing and internationalizing. Between 2019 and 2022, when the agency was defunded, production contracted and dozens of companies closed. Since 2023, with the reactivation of incentives, the industry has recovered. The result is measurable: in 2025 Brazil won the Oscar for International Feature Film with ‘I’m Still Here,’ and this year received five nominations, including best International Feature Film and Picture for ‘The Secret Agent.’”
“The public financing of the audiovisual sector is not an Argentine exception; it is the global standard for film industries worldwide. The countries that lead global production combine support funds and tax incentives to attract investment, develop talent and compete in the global content economy,” said FIPCA VP Diego F. Ramírez of 64-A Films (“Dog Eat Dog”).
Diego Ramírez of Colombia’s 64-A Films, Fipca Vice President. Courtesy of Fipca
Since rising to power in Dec. 2023, Milei has made good on his promise to deploy a “chainsaw” to Argentina’s economy, targeting cultural institutions in a bid to slash the country’s runaway inflation. His omnibus bill proposed in January 2024, which would have scrapped INCAA, failed to pass, after massive protests and a petition signed by the world’s most celebrated filmmakers made an impact. This new petition hopes to achieve the same result.
