Netflix and the Mexican Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Academy (AMACC) announced the expansion of the MX$ 25 million (USD 1 million) aid fund, called ‘Fondo de Apoyo Covid-19 para la Industria Cinematográfica y Audiovisual’. The entities agreed to add MX$ 4.5 million (USD 20.7 thousand) to the fund, raising the total amount to MX$ 29.5 million (USD 1.3 million).
As Netflix and AMACC officially reported, around 1,437 workers in the area in more than 20 Mexican states will directly benefited from this measure. With the expansion, the aid fund provides each worker in the Mexican audiovisual industry with MX$ 20 thousand (USD 890), focused on helping technicians, makeup artists, and also wardrobe, locations, art, management and decoration assistants. Drivers , carpenters, illuminators, kitcheners, sound workers, graffers, props and electricians are also included in the aid fund expansion.
‘For AMACC, it has been so gratifying and important to have contributed and to be part of this generous initiative, which allowed supporting and improving the condition of 1,437 workers in the film and audiovisual industry, affected by the cancellations and putting offs of different projects due to the Coronavirus pandemic’, said Monica Lozano, President at AMACC.
From Netflix they also expressed themselves about the expansion of the economic aid fund through Francisco Ramos, the company’s VP of Original Contents for Latin America. ‘We are very grateful to AMACC for the effort they made to support workers in the industry during this health crisis, as well as with representatives of the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (IMCINE) and UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico), who were part of the Evaluation Committee for this Fund. We remain committed to the Mexican audiovisual industry, through this initiative and the imminent return of our productions’, said the executive.
Apart from Mexico, Netflix has provided an aid fund to audiovisual industry workers in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. In addition, the company chose Mexico as the headquarters for its operations in Latin America,not including Brazil, where it has headquarters operating in San Pablo.