Baklight Is Opening Jalisco Filmmaking to the World

Surrounded by the rich cultural and visual traditions of Guadalajara, Mexico, it’s no surprise that Paco Herrera grew up to be a multidisciplinary filmmaker – and more than that, one who’s used his obsession with moving images to put his hometown on the map as “one of the most interesting creative and technical hubs in Latin America”.

Long before co-founding Baklight, an end-to-end creative production and post company focused on culturally-rooted, independent filmmaking, a young Paco fell in love with cinematography, “hypnotised” by the use of light in Hollywood adventure films, European cinema and BBC nature documentaries.

“Advertising was also huge,” he tells LBB. “I loved commercials that felt like short films – spots where you could feel a whole world built in 30 seconds. That idea stayed with me: that you can condense emotion, character and place into very little screen time if you’re precise with the image.”

After some early analogue experiments, Paco pursued formal director of photography (DoP) training in film school, and also applied his visual storytelling skills to editing, colour grading and producing. “Advertising came in as a natural extension,” he says. “Brands and agencies needed someone who could think visually, move fast and understand both the creative and the technical sides. I started with small local spots and corporate pieces, and over time, that grew into national campaigns and then international work. Eventually, all that experience led me to create Baklight, where we could offer that full spectrum under one roof.”

^{Above: Paco on set [R]}

Now serving as CEO, DoP and post producer, Paco says what started as a small, image-obsessed operation has gradually evolved into a full ecosystem: production, equipment rentals and post – all with one ambitious goal: “To create a place in Guadalajara where you could conceive, shoot and finish high-end audiovisual work with international standards, without having to leave the region.”

“As clients trust us more, they don’t just want us to execute,” he says. “They want us to help shape the idea, the visual language and the story. As filmmakers, we also need to feed that part of our practice, telling our own stories and those of our region and our cultural background.”

In Paco and the team’s case, their cultural background, rooted in Jalisco, is vital for the company, which sees itself as part of the wider Mexican and Latin American creative community. Baklight collaborates regularly with Mexican production companies and agencies for national projects, US and European partners that need a trusted base in Mexico, and with independent directors and documentarians who come to them for crews, gear and post.

“I like that balance,” says Paco. “[It’s] rooted in our local reality, but open to the world.”

This runs in stark contrast to the image he paints of the nation’s creative and production industry when he first started out – a smaller, more centralised hub concentrated in Mexico City with “a few big players”. He explains, “There was huge talent, but less access to tools, and international collaborations were rarer. Today, it’s a different landscape. Digital cinema, streaming platforms and remote workflows have changed everything. Mexico has become a strategic hub for global streamers and brands. The level of craft in direction, cinematography, art, production design and post is absolutely world-class.

“Within that,” he adds, “Jalisco and Guadalajara has grown from a ‘regional market’ to one of the most interesting creative and technical hubs in Latin America, with studios, animation, games, strong rental houses and a more mature service ecosystem. On the world stage, Mexican production is now seen as a creative partner, not just a low-cost location. We export directors, DoPs and showrunners, but we also host big international shows and campaigns that trust local crews with very high stakes. That’s a big shift.”

At the moment, Paco says Mexico is in a “complex but very dynamic moment”, experiencing urbanisation and regional growth, increased international interest, inequality and social challenges like environmental pressures and migration, as well as a renewed sense of identity and pride within the younger generations.

“For our work, that means brands and institutions are more interested in purpose-driven narratives: community, sustainability, inclusion, mental health, education. There’s a higher sensitivity around representation – how you portray people, places and traditions matters more than ever. And there’s a growing appetite for stories that feel specific to Mexico or to a region like Jalisco, but which still speak a universal, emotional language.”

^{Above: Screenshot from ‘El Batán – Small and Pretty’}​

Recent Baklight projects that embody this sentiment include the short documentary ‘El Batán – Small and Pretty’, a portrait of a community and its struggles with urban transformation.

“It has travelled internationally and won awards, but more importantly, it has created a dialogue with the people on screen. It represents the side of Baklight that cares deeply about place and memory.”

That’s not to mention ‘San Esteban: Freedom, Mysticism & Nopales’, another documentary bringing landscape, spirituality and everyday life together.

“For me as a DoP and director, it was an opportunity to honour a community that welcomed us, and to work with a more contemplative, poetic visual style. Seeing it recognised at festivals abroad has been very meaningful.”

Paco also highlights the company’s long-term brand work in the tequila region for international alcohol brands such as Tequila Patrón, saying, “I’m proud of those because they show that you can speak to a global audience with sophistication, while still being faithful to the people and places that make the product possible.”

While part of Paco’s job as CEO is to support the team behind this work and oversee the vision and strategy behind Baklight, it’s putting on his DoP cap that brings him back to why he first entered the industry. “If I’m honest, there’s nothing like the feeling of being on set as a DoP when everything comes together – performance, light, camera, location,” he says. “But that’s only possible if the company side is solid. So, I see the roles as complementary – the CEO in me builds a platform so the DoP in me can create freely.”

He adds, “The main challenges are time and focus, switching from a creative, intuitive mindset to a strategic, operational one, and saying ‘no’. As a creative, you want to shoot everything, but as a CEO, you have to protect the company’s health and your own bandwidth. And you need to keep space for experimentation, both in the business and in the craft.”

Currently in a phase of simultaneous consolidation and exploration, Paco shares that Baklight is presently focused on both strengthening its offering as a trusted production partner in Jalisco and across Mexico, and developing new relationships with markets just discovering the region. The company is also investing in the creation of more original and documentary projects, especially those telling stories rooted in the communities and landscapes the team knows intimately.

“What excites me is the access and diversity of voices we’re seeing,” he says, discussing what intrigues him about this culture-forward filmmaking future. “Tools that were once reserved for big studios are now in the hands of independent filmmakers around the world. I love seeing new perspectives, new geographies and new hybrid formats.

“As an industry, I think we could do better at protecting craft and thinking time,” he adds. “Let’s be more honest about what it really takes to do quality work… and continue to open doors for voices and communities that have been underrepresented, not as a trend but as a long-term shift.

“We want to keep making beautiful, honest work, and we want to do it in a way that is healthy for the people who make it.”