Visceral: “The U.S. Is Mexico’s Easiest Client, But It Demands Certainty, Clear Processes, And Technical Rigor”

Visceral seeks to position Mexico as a viable option for content production in any language, taking advantage of its proximity to the United States and the presence of incentives in Mexico. The company has intensified its commercial efforts heading into the second half of 2026. In this effort, it has detected significant interest from U.S. companies in producing in the country. They already have a couple of projects under management.

Its founders, Pablo Calasso and Javier Williams, told PRODU that to move the initiative forward, they are navigating the technical complexities of federal and state fiscal incentives. “They come to us because they like how we work, or because someone recommends us. Everyone is exploring what kind of incentives Mexico is offering,” Williams explained.

Many of these productions are going to more distant locations, even though Mexico represents a major opportunity due to its proximity, technical readiness, and locations. The current situation with new incentives represents a unique opportunity.

FOREIGN PRODUCERS REQUIRE CERTAINTY

Williams explained that one of the requirements U.S. producers demand is a written document certifying receipt of the incentive. “They require signed documents to secure financing. You are required to have written confirmation that the incentive will exist,” he said.

One of the most dramatic changes Visceral has identified in the international market is the acceleration of decision-making cycles in U.S. studios. “Before, they would reach out to us to plan one or two years in advance; now the calls are: ‘In the next two or three months we want to see if we produce a film… and we want to explore options,’” Williams said.

Given this speed, Mexico’s geography works in its favor, but it is not enough. Without institutional certainty, productions that could be decided quickly hesitate.

THE CHALLENGES OF EFICA

At the federal level, the operation of the EFICA incentive presents specific challenges for the type of films produced in the national ecosystem or independently at an international level (with budgets below the minimum required by the program). Pablo Calasso explains that the federal incentive sets a minimum spending threshold that excludes mid-sized or lower-budget projects.

Beyond that, he says there is a need for better understanding of how EFICA works and for awaiting the Technical Committee’s guidelines. “In practice, the secondary market still looks complex for independents. For platforms, the path is clearer. But it does not encourage an independent film market due to the difficulty of transacting the paper quickly. This is something that has already been achieved in more mature markets, such as Colombia.”

For this reason, they are applying for the Jalisco cash rebate and exploring the one in Morelos.

“The best thing we can have is experience. That things start happening and processes become simpler. That we have positive experiences, people who have done well. This will attract capital because word spreads,” he said.

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPARENCY

Visceral is characterized by transparency and ethics. They have built a reputation around this. Part of this practice is reflected in budgeting, by passing on real crew and lodging costs to international studios—without hidden markups. Combined with native-level bilingual communication and an understanding of Hollywood corporate processes, this B2B model is helping mitigate perceived risk, showing that rigorous technical execution is key to sustaining the growth of Mexico’s audiovisual industry.

“Language is important because people feel understood. Also, with our past experience—in my case at Televisa and Pablo’s at other companies where we did international productions—knowing foreign production processes helps us speak the same language: not just English, but the language of production processes. And then there is the ethics with which we work, absolute transparency. We provide real prices. We are very specific with budgets,” explained Javier Williams.

They say Mexico’s easiest client is its neighbor. “Mexico has taken a very important step in adopting this public policy. Details still need to be refined and good experiences need to be created,” they said. The virtuous circle will emerge once the system begins to run more smoothly.