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Leading Mexican Post-Production Houses Chemistry and Semillero Join Forces in Guadalajara (EXCLUSIVE)
Leading Mexico City post-production house Chemistry has joined forces with Guadalajara-based Semillero Estudios, in a bid to tap the state of Jalisco's 40% cash rebate incentive and diversity of locations.
'Jalisco is experiencing an important moment for national cinema, and we couldn't stay on the sidelines,' said Chemistry head Andrés Martínez-Ríos, adding: 'With the recent state incentives for film production, opening a studio here became an attractive and exciting opportunity.'
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Martínez-Ríos and Semillero Studio's Álvaro Arce broke the news as the 40th Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG) opened on June 6.
'Chemistry has had a strong presence in the film industry of Guadalajara for a long time. We've been part of the festival for over 15 years, supporting various local productions through [FICG's pix-in-post program] Guadalajara Construye, such as 'Martínez,' and nationally significant projects like 'Chivas, la película.'
'The idea had been simmering, but we needed a creative and local partner. That's where Semillero came in – a leading sound design and music recording studio in the state. We had the great experience of collaborating on several projects, including the ones mentioned above. The partnership was very organic, and within months we finalized the alliance to now offer a real and high-quality post-production service for image and sound to production companies and platforms looking to produce in Jalisco,' Martínez-Ríos told Variety.
Jalisco is the only state in Mexico that offers this generous incentive. It's available to producers who have been established in the state for at least three years or to those who co-produce with a Jalisco-based producer.
Other audiovisual companies are said to be looking to open offices in Jalisco as a result. Some high-profile projects filming in the state include Apple TV+'s 'Acapulco' which shoots in Puerto Vallarta and Netflix's 'The Manny.' FICG opening film 'I Am Frankelda' was also produced in the state in collaboration with the Guadalajara City-based Polar Studio.
On the national level, Mexico offers a 16% VAT rebate for international productions.
Founded in 2013 by Arce, a music producer, sound designer and composer, Semillero specializes in music composition and production, sound design and immersive mixing for film, television, OTTs and any audiovisual format.
Among its many credits are the International Emmy-winning 'Sr. Ávila' for HBO Latin America, Lorenzo Hagerman's lauded documentary 'Flamingos' and Pablo Olmos' multi-prized horror pic, 'Rendez-Vous.'
Boasting 15 years in the biz, Chemistry offers state-of-the-art tools and workflows designed to bring stories to life—from dailies to final deliveries, including color grading.
Said Martínez-Ríos: 'We're very excited to begin this new adventure. Our partnership with Semillero strengthens us even more and allows us to provide better services to the local industry, as well as to national and international productions.'
FICG runs over June 6-14.
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