The mulas are moved to Barranquilla

In representative scenarios of our city a film about a Colombian who falls into the cluches of drug trafficking is being shot

The Arriero
Tab: 2008, Colombia - Spain, RCN film and Lumiere Foundation.
Director: Guillermo Calle
With: Julián Díaz, María Cecilia Sanchez and Paula Castaño.
Premiere: Eastern 2009

by Carlos Rincón Eckardt

Lights, sound, video, rolling ... a combination of words very familiar no adays in Barranquilla. Thats right, for the following weeks "Quilla" will become the venue chosen for the onlocation filming of "El Arriero", A Colombian film production, that began shooting a few days ago in the "Edificio de la Aduana".

The drill starts every day at 7:30 a.m. on location where we met the production team, composed of more than 20 people who mobilize in 3 trucks.

Among the actors who travelled from Bogotá to participate in the arriero are Julián Díaz, from the "Colombian dream", and Maria Cecilia Sanchez, the winner of the first version of "Isla de los Famosos" TV Show. The other people involved in the shooting in the city are barranquilleros hired by Astrocasting, the casting agency responsible for the coordination of extras, pre-approved by Guillermo Calle, the Director of the film who has on his behalf such landmark Colombian films such as "La Gente del Universal".

The daily shoot is a "tour de force", Despite the thousands of hours invested in the preproduction process and the professionalism, creativity and human talent, anything can happen.

The behind the scenes is, on many occasions, a lot more intriguing than the film itself. And a single scene whose preparatin took weeks or months will only have a few seconds of screen time.

Fortunately, the filmakers of "El Arriero" have discovered, with enormous satisfaction, that Barranquilla is an ideal location for filming, offering infinite number of locations that can be adapted and tailored to the needs of the filmaker, as well as loads of people with great acting abilities and natural talent for action, that are channeled thru specialized agencies like Astrocasting.

For the original version of this article in spanish go here