Angie Mulhall wrote in the June issue of Boards magazine: "The fall of production giant FlehnerFilms has also been blamed on the turgid domestic economy and has shifted the focus of their activity into promoting their directors (such as Marcelo Szechtman) in foreign markets such as the US, Ecuador and Mexico".

No worries Angie, we Southern Americans are more than used to mistakes about us. A classic that amuses us, regardless of how many times we hear it, is the confusion on Latin American capital cities (in fact, Rio isn't even one). But the confusion here is not strictly geographical. FlehnerFilms, no matter how far south on the map, is very far from going down.

As Angie accurately mentioned, our directors have been shooting in the US, Ecuador and Mexico but also in Argentina, Brazil and Chile. We would like to add that we have already produced over 40 commercials since January 2002, [for clients such as] Johnnie Walker (Leo Burnett, Miami), Ford (JWT, Buenos Aires), Sensao/Coca Cola Co. (JWT, Mexico, through FlehnerTribu) and Unilever Knorr (JWT, El Salvador). We strengthened our team by hiring Valeria Satas and Loly Carnero as Senior Producers, and Sergio Gullco as associate head of production services. And we recently incorporated Gabriel Bossio as a new director.

At first, the devaluation of the peso caused severe damage to the local economy, but signs of recovery are already showing. One of them is certainly the increasing number of international productions in Buenos Aires. Since one US dollar is worth more than triple now, production companies from all over the world are getting the most for their money, while shooting in exceptional locations, with world-class local talent and highly trained bilingual crews. Jonathan Glazer, for instance, is currently shooting Stella Artois for Lowe London in the streets of Buenos Aires.

But the best thing is to come here and see it for yourself. So, you are cordially invited to visit our country, shoot a couple of commercials here and do some really convenient shopping.

Edi Flehner, President, FlehnerFilms