Screens without borders. The cinema that could stitch together Mexico–U.S. Relations (if politics doesn’t tear it apart)

Binational cinema is no longer a rarity: it is a strategic tool for economic, cultural, and technological integration between Mexico and the United States. In 2024, Mexico and the U.S. were—once again—the most active coproduction pair for the country: at least 21 films were made with talent and capital from both sides, driven by logistical advantages, shared value chains, and an increasingly sophisticated production ecosystem in Mexico.

The 2024 data show a Mexican industry strong enough to sustain more binational exchanges. According to IMCINE’s Yearbook, 240 feature films were in production (36 in shooting, 47 in post, and 157 completed), with 41% supported by public funds; 59% were fiction and 39% documentary. A total of 467 films were released in theaters (112 Mexican), and the festival and event circuit grew by 10% to 253. In addition, 50 Mexican films premiered in 43 countries (15% more than in 2023). On platforms, 32 streaming services were identified with film offerings in Mexico, and 36% of Mexican features released in theaters were also available online. Training is equally strong: 140 educational centers offered 331 cinema and audiovisual programs. All this illustrates a production and talent base well-positioned for sustained cross-border projects.

Yet integration also requires correcting representational asymmetries on U.S. screens. UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report 2025, covering 2024 releases, highlights a setback: 74.8% of theatrical leads were white actors, while only 1% of leads were Latino. BIPOC participation in lead casts also decreased compared to 2023. This gap reveals both an opportunity—and a responsibility—for binational projects to bring Latino and “borderland” stories into the mainstream at industrial scale.

On the economic front, 2024 left powerful figures: the GDP of Mexico’s film sector reached 20.7 billion pesos and created more than 21,000 jobs. In 2025, Netflix announced a $1 billion investment to produce in Mexico, with ripple effects for suppliers, locations, and training. This boom coexists with commercial uncertainties—such as possible tariffs on productions outside the U.S.—which could raise costs or slow cross-border shoots if not shielded by agreements and cultural diplomacy.

Why is Mexico Hollywood’s natural production arm? Beyond logistical proximity, the country offers a 0% VAT rate on services billed to international productions and customs facilities (ATA Carnet) for equipment, which cut costs and time. States like Jalisco have added rebates of up to 40% for audiovisual work, bringing local creative SMEs into the chain and strengthening coproduction with U.S. studios and streamers.

The technological layer accelerates convergence. Mexico has embraced virtual production: Simplemente operates a LED volume at Estudios Churubusco, and projects like Cada minuto cuenta have used LED walls and real-time rendering (the technology popularized by The Mandalorian) to recreate complex environments with lower costs and a smaller logistical footprint—perfect for hybrid Mexico–U.S. teams. The result is a pipeline compatible with Hollywood standards and greater resilience when physical shooting is restricted.

Cultural integration also happens “from below.” The Binational Independent Film Festival (El Paso–Ciudad Juárez) and showcases like Femme Frontera weave audiences, curatorship, and professional networking across the line. These nodes—alongside academic work at UNAM/ENAC and border studies centers at UTEP—are incubators ensuring shared stories are written with rigor and market viability.

The 2024–2025 balance: the ground is ready. Mexico shows production scale, talent training, and technological adoption; the U.S. maintains the largest market and platforms eager for “glocal” content. The challenge for 2025 is political, economic, and creative. Political: preventing tariffs or regulatory swings from undermining collaboration, and instead consolidating binational mechanisms (through film commissions and foreign ministries) that give certainty to coproductions and state-level incentives. Economic: structuring contracts so more intellectual property remains in Mexican and binational teams’ hands, while creating mixed funds that anchor high-impact social projects in border cities. Creative-technological: closing Hollywood’s Latino representation gap with stories grounded in real data and communities, leveraging LED volumes to reduce multi-country production costs, and linking schools (ENAC, CCC, UTEP, ASU) with writers’ rooms and postproduction labs. If these pieces align, cinema could become North America’s most empathetic industrial policy: one that generates jobs, exports prestige, and above all, repairs narratives between neighbors.

Written by: Editorial

#CineSinFronteras #BinationalIntegration #CreativeEconomy #MexicoUSA #AudiovisualTechnology