Filming in Colombia

 Colombia

One of the great advantages of filming in Colombia is its undiscovered and unspoilt filming locations that allow filmmakers to screen beautiful sights and magnificent landscapes, inspiring imagination and creativity.

Filming Permits in Colombia

Securing the right permissions is a key part of any shoot, and the process for filming in Colombia is more straightforward than many first-time producers expect. The national Comisión Fílmica Colombia and a network of regional and city film commissions coordinate filming permits across the country, and our local team manages every application on your behalf.

Local Permits & the Process

Permits for filming on public land are issued at city level. In the capital, the Bogotá Film Commission grants the Unified Audiovisual Filming Permit (PUFA) for any production using public space, with applications submitted through the city’s online SUMA platform. Other major hubs such as Medellín and Cartagena run their own equivalent permitting offices. Our fixers prepare your shooting schedule, location list and crew details, liaise directly with the relevant authority, and arrange any road closures, parking or police support your scenes require.

National Parks & Public Spaces

Filming in Colombia’s protected natural areas is handled separately. Requests to shoot in national parks and other protected reserves are filed with the environmental authorities through the Environmental Window in Bogotá, while filming at archaeological sites such as the Lost City must be authorised in advance by the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH). These applications carry longer lead times, so early planning is essential, and we factor them into your production schedule from the outset.

Processing Time

Standard public-space permits in Bogotá are typically processed within around five business days, with an expedited option available in roughly three. Less populated locations are usually quicker still, while national-park and archaeological-site authorisations should be requested several weeks ahead, in some cases at least a month before filming. Building these timelines into your pre-production plan keeps your shoot on schedule.

Filming Locations in Colombia

Beyond the well-known backdrops of Bogotá, Medellín and Cartagena, Colombia offers an extraordinary range of filming locations within short reach of one another, from Caribbean and Pacific coastlines to high Andean peaks, rainforest and desert.

The Pacific Coast

Colombia’s Pacific coast is wild and dramatic, with dark volcanic sands, dense jungle meeting the shoreline and seasonal whale migrations offshore. Remote and largely undeveloped, it suits productions seeking raw, untouched coastal scenery far removed from conventional beach settings.

The Lost City (Ciudad Perdida)

Hidden deep in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta near the Caribbean coast, the Lost City (Ciudad Perdida) is a terraced archaeological site founded around 800 CE — roughly 650 years before Machu Picchu. Reached on foot through the surrounding jungle, it offers a genuinely unique backdrop for documentaries and feature films, and shooting there is coordinated with ICANH and the local Indigenous communities.

National Parks & Natural Wonders

Colombia’s national parks deliver some of the most cinematic landscapes anywhere in the region. Tayrona National Park combines Caribbean beaches with tropical forest; the Cocora Valley in the coffee region is famous for its towering wax palms; and Caño Cristales, the so-called “River of Five Colours” in the Serranía de la Macarena, turns vivid red and yellow in season. Together they give filmmakers access to beaches, mountains, rainforest and rivers within a single country.

Filming Incentives and Costs in Colombia

Colombia has become one of Latin America’s most competitive destinations for international productions, thanks to two distinct film incentives established under Law 1556 and administered by the Comisión Fílmica Colombia.
The FFC Cash Rebate, financed through the Colombia Film Fund, returns 40% of qualifying spend on audiovisual services — including crew, cast, equipment hire and location fees — and 20% on logistical services such as transport, accommodation and catering. To qualify, productions must meet a minimum local spend on audiovisual and logistical services (1,800 SMLMV, around USD 641,000 in 2025).
The CINA (Audiovisual Investment Certificate) offers a transferable tax credit worth 35% of eligible spend on audiovisual and logistical services. A 5% fee payable to the film commission gives a net return of roughly 33.25% of qualifying spend, and the certificate covers feature films, series, music videos, animation, post-production and advertising. For 2026 the Colombian government raised the CINA allocation to a record COP 350 billion (about USD 90 million), a 49% increase on 2025 — a clear signal of the country’s commitment to attracting foreign productions. Because demand for these tax incentives is high and budgets are allocated annually, we recommend confirming eligibility and applying as early as possible. (Incentive figures: Comisión Fílmica Colombia, 2025–2026.)

Productions We Support

Whatever the scale of your project, our team in Colombia is ready to help. We regularly support international productions of every kind — feature films, television series, documentaries, commercials and music videos — providing experienced local crew, camera and lighting equipment, location scouting, and access to local talent and casting. From a single fixer on a fast-turnaround shoot to full production services for a multi-week schedule, we tailor our support to what your production in Colombia actually needs.

Frequently Asked Questions