Mexico Has a New Film Law: What Changes for Audiovisual Authors?
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After more than three decades under an outdated legal framework, Mexico’s audiovisual sector now has legislation that recognizes film and audiovisual creation as a cultural right and begins to shield creators from the impact of artificial intelligence.
In April 2026, the Senate of the Republic of Mexico approved the Federal Film and Audiovisual Law. With 87 votes in favor, it closed the chapter on a cinematography law dating back to 1992: legislation conceived on the threshold of the internet era, when platforms were science fiction and streaming was barely a concept without a name.
But what does this mean in concrete terms for those who create stories? In several respects, the answer is encouraging — though not without nuances.
A Paradigm Shift: From Market Commodity to Cultural Right
The core of the reform is conceptual before it is operational. The new legislation abandons the notion of cinema as a commodity and recognizes it as part of the right to culture enshrined in Article 4 of the Constitution.
Secretary of Culture Claudia Curiel de Icaza summarized it precisely during the presidential conference announcing the approval: “Film and audiovisual works cannot remain solely at the mercy of the market. They are part of our right to culture, our memory, and our capacity to tell our own stories as a country.”
According to data from SOMEDIRE, the collective management organization that legally represents audiovisual directors in Mexico, 110 of the 539 films released in 2025 were Mexican productions. Altogether, Mexican national cinema generated 637 million pesos and attracted 9.2 million viewers — barely 4.5% of total box office revenue and 4.8% of annual attendance. The gap between production and real on-screen visibility is precisely the structural problem this law seeks to address.
More Screen Time, More Visibility: Measures That Directly Affect Your Work
For a director or screenwriter, getting a film released is only half the battle. The other half is ensuring that audiences can actually see it. On that front, the new law introduces tangible changes: The minimum screen quota of 10% of exhibition time in movie theaters will remain in place, while the minimum theatrical run is extended from 7 to 14 days. Fourteen days may not sound like much, but for an independent production competing against Hollywood blockbusters, it can mean the difference between being seen and disappearing in silence.
Digital platforms will also be required to maintain visible and permanent sections dedicated to Mexican cinema, marking a significant shift in the way audiovisual content is distributed and consumed. The algorithm will no longer be able to bury a national film on page 47 of a catalog.
Artificial Intelligence and Author’s Rights: The Other Battle
Perhaps the most urgent aspect for working screenwriters and directors is the parallel reform to the Federal Author’s Rights Law and the Federal Labor Law, approved as part of the same legislative package.
Secretary Curiel de Icaza was explicit on this point: “Thanks to this reform, voice and image are more clearly recognized as part of artistic labor and professional identity. It establishes that any use through technological tools requires express authorization and clear contractual conditions.”
The measure responds to concrete demands from the dubbing and performers’ sectors, but its scope directly affects directors and screenwriters as well: no AI system may reproduce, imitate, or replace the creative work of an author without explicit consent. At a time when major studios and platforms are already experimenting with automated script generation and the digital recreation of cinematographers and visual styles, legal protection arrives — perhaps — at the last possible moment.
Collectives of technicians, actors, and screenwriters have insisted that without clear rules and institutional backing, national talent becomes invisible. Minimum exhibition quotas, guaranteed theatrical runs, and visibility requirements on digital platforms represent balancing mechanisms in the face of a profoundly unequal market.
FOCINE, Tax Incentives, and the Missing Money
The law also formally incorporates FOCINE as a recognized fund with a progressively increasing budget. It adds a tax incentive of up to 30% of total production costs for projects made in Mexico, with an authorized annual amount of up to 400 million pesos and a ceiling of 40 million pesos per project. In addition, EFICINE received a historic increase of 115 million pesos — more than 16% — as part of a comprehensive support policy for the sector.
IMCINE will also have an independent advisory committee tasked with issuing well-founded and transparent recommendations to ensure that development resources are distributed fairly and without favoritism. For those who have witnessed public support historically concentrated in commercial productions that did not need it, that clause is far from minor.
The new law also strengthens the mandate to preserve, restore, digitize, and disseminate the audiovisual heritage. It establishes the obligation to deposit high-quality copies of Mexican films with the National Film Archive. For a director, knowing that one’s work will not disappear on a forgotten hard drive is also a form of protection.
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