Latin American audiovisual industry is in mourning for Ana Piñeres, producer, union leader and active feminist

Ana Piñeres, founding partner, COO and executive producer, CMO Producciones and prominent leader in the Latin American film and television industry, died on Monday the 20th surrounded by her family.

It was shocking news for the region’s audiovisual industry, where Piñeres stood out as a renowned and creative member, union leader and active feminist, but above all, for her charisma and her humanity.

In her early days, she worked as a radio presenter at Javeriana Estéreo station and Radiodifusora Nacional de Colombia, where she ran her own shows. In addition, she became part of La FM, under the direction of Julio Sánchez Cristo.

In 2000 she teamed up with Clara María Ochoa and they founded CMO Producciones, where she held positions as Creative Producer and Director of the Project Management department. She was involved on well-known films such as Como el Gato y el Ratón, Del Amor y Otros Demonios, Kalibre 35; and was the producer of successful series such as: Pálpito (Top 1 worldwide on Netflix and of which she recorded its second season), Pasión de Gavilanes, La Venganza de Analía, Tarde lo Conocí, La Niña, Fugitivos, La Ronca de Oro, Bazurto and La Promesa.

Her last audiovisual work was in the film El Rey de la Montaña together with Clara María Ochoa and Camilo Vega as director, a production filmed in February and is expected to be released in 2023.

UNION LEADER AND EDUCATION CHAMPION
Ana also stood out as an advocate of the union’s labor rights. She was President of ASOCINDE (Colombian Association of Independent Film Producers), a founding member and former representative of film producers on the management board of the Colombian Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences and on the board of directors of Proimágenes Colombia for two periods. She recently held the position as President of Egeda Colombia (collective management society at the service of audiovisual producers).

Last year, under her leadership, she was able to stop the amendment of the tax reform bill of the Colombian government of President Gustavo Petro that intended to eliminate the tax benefits of audiovisual production in the country. Joined by some colleagues, a white glove but an iron fist, she defended the interests of the industry by meeting with different members of the government and legislative representatives to explain the benefits of audiovisual production in her territory.

“It is not new that a recently elected government faces a tax reform and reviews incentives or exemptions (previous governments have already done it), the issue is that they are not considering how powerful the Colombian Audiovisual industry has become in the World,” she said during that challenging moment.

She strongly believed that the creative industries are the engine of the economy in Latin America, and in recent months she advised various professionals in Ecuador about the implementation of tax incentives similar to those in Colombia.

Her concern for the industry also prompted her to be a guest lecturer and professor in workshops and courses at various universities in the country, as well as a teacher in the Master’s Degree in Audiovisual Production and Cultural Management at the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogotá.

Ana Piñeres stood out in various areas of the Colombian and Latin American audiovisual industry, so her absence leaves a huge void. However, her legacy is also extensive and her friends, colleagues and peers, as well as the professionals she helped to train, will continue to preserve her legacy.