Colombia’s Top Fixers
Colombia has transformed into a world-class film production destination in recent years. Yet there's one thing you can't do without to ensure that your project is a success: a well-connected local fixer. Here are the Best fixers in Colombia:
Gregg Bleakney
When the world’s top global brands, producers, and agencies want to execute world-class visual projects and marketing campaigns in their native language with confidence in Colombia, they call Gregg. WhereNext's founder counts on 10 years of experience as a director, filmmaker, and fixer in Colombia. He has personally overseen the production of over 500 videos as the Director of WhereNext, from epic cycling adventures with globally-renowned athletes to urban campaigns for world-class brands. His many years working as an international photojournalist and ambassadorship for the Adventure Travel Trade Association has afforded him access to an extensive network of contacts in the sport and adventure travel industry, particularly in his adopted home country of Colombia.
In 2018 the Colombian Ministry of Tourism selected Gregg to produce and direct their 2019 tourism storytelling campaign. In winning this bid, a mixed private and public sector selection committee unanimously awarded the contract to WhereNext over every major production and creative studio, both national and international, with offices in Colombia—including Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and Fox Studios. In 2016 Gregg led the production of Columbia Sportswear's 2016 Outdry Extreme product and press event in Colombia. The event included Columbia's press team and editors from Men’s Journal, Outside Magazine, Backpacker, and other top publications. In 2017, he produced their Director's of Toughness video series in the remote jungle of Colombia's Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Some of Gregg’s other clients in Colombia include IBM, Adidas, CANVA, Cat Footwear, Dior, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic.
Sandra Eichmann Perret
Sandra's decade of work as an audiovisual producer and cultural manager makes her one of the trusted and experienced fixers in Colombia, particularly when it comes to organizing the often complicated permits and regulations involved in planning complicated projects in Colombia. She knows the ins-and-out of Colombian bureaucracy like the back of her hand. She can quickly secure the necessary paperwork to ensure that any production in Colombia runs as smoothly as possible.
Among her many credits are production of the Colombian government’s most important annual cultural event, the 2017 Bogotá International Book Fair, with more than half a million attendees; Rendez-vous en Terre Inconnue, a documentary filmed in Colombia’s remote Sierra Santa Marta wilderness, for France 2, France’s biggest TV station; and Los Caballeros las Prefieren Brutas, a TV series for Sony Entertainment. She also produced The Birders, a series of documentary films, events, and inbound digital campaigns by WhereNext that has positioned Colombia as the world’s top birding destination. Sandra speaks fluent English, Spanish, and French.
Sandra Eichmann Perret during the WhereNext production of ‘The Birders’ documentary, in the isolated Colombian Amazon region of Vaupes.
Chris Bell
Chris is Colombia’s most sought after fixer when it comes to planning an itinerary and organizing filming locations in this country. No fixer in Colombia knows the highways and byways of this vast and diverse country better.
Chris speaks fluent Spanish and has six years of experience working in the Colombian travel industry as a travel writer and tourism operator. He has traveled to all 32 Colombian departments on multiple occasions and has an extensive network of contacts in all of them.
Chris's knowledge of Colombian birds is another skill he brings to the table: he has spoken about birding in Colombia at several birding conferences and in international media outlets like CNN. If you want to film birds and wildlife in Colombia, Chris is the best fixer you could work with thanks to both his knowledge of Colombian wildlife and his wide-range of local contacts across the entire country. Let's say you are planning a wildlife documentary in the Colombian Amazon; no matter how isolated the region, Chris could have you set up with a local guide, accommodation, transport, and catering in no time.
Chris Bell out in the wilderness of southern Colombia, exploring the Caqueta River and the Araracuara Canyon during one of his many Colombia scouting trips.
Cristina Arbeláez
Cristina is WhereNext’s top tourism adviser and fixer thanks to her years of experience as an Adviser to the Colombian Vice-Minister of Tourism. As part of her role at the Ministry she formulated the first national Sustainable Tourism Policy, developed the Agenda on Climate Change and Sustainable Development of Tourism in the Americas, and representing the Vice-Ministry of Tourism in the Sustainability Taskforce of the World Travel and Tourism Council. When it comes to seeking filming permits to shoot travel projects in Colombia, Cristina’s wealth of experience and knowledge of Colombian tourism practices are invaluable. Her Ministry experience also included developing alliances with international and civil society organizations, tourism companies and other government agencies, so she boasts a huge number of connections in the tourism and travel industry in Colombia and abroad. This board range of experience and knowledge makes Cristina ones of Colombia’s top fixers for shooting travel projects.
Cristina Arbeláez in one of Colombia’s top travel and tourism fixers
Work With the Dream Team
When you choose to work with WhereNext, you won't just be working with one of the best fixers in Colombia; you will be working with all four of the people listed in this blog post. Their skills and contacts already make them the best fixers you could work with when you are planning to film here, but the combination of all four of them makes for the best team of fixers in Colombia.