COMMENTARY BY FABRICIO FERRARA Welcome to Portugal, a land of opportunities PRENSARIO had the chance to visit Portugal many times and the most significant impression from those trips has been the quality of its people, its unique architecture (its famous calçada portuguesa!) and history, as well as its fantastic and fresh food, weather Prensario and skies, sightseeing and, of course, its tiles. International The country offers a great perspective of the ©2018 EDITORIAL PRENSARIO SRL Portuguese Empire. The one that has travelled and PAYMENTS TO THE ORDER OF conquered lands all across the world: from Brazil in EDITORIAL PRENSARIO SRL OR BY CREDIT CARD. South America to Macau in South East Asia, going REGISTRO NACIONAL DE DERECHO through Africa. That diversity is perceived in the DE AUTOR Nº 10878 territory and its people’s culture. For the first time, PRENSARIO produces this Argentina: Lavalle 1569, Of. 405 special edition 100% focused on the Portuguese C1048 AAK audiovisual industry with a double objective: on Buenos Aires, Argentina one side, to highlight the global industry about the Tel: (+54-11) 4924-7908 Fax: (+54-11) 4925-2507 big opportunities to develop projects in a unique space; on the other, maybe the most ambitious one, USA: 12307 SW 133 Court - Suite #1432 to encourage local players to join forces in order to Miami, Florida 33186-USA better promote the country’s advantages worldwide. Phone: (305) 890-1813 Email: [email protected] This edition is full of information about the biggest Website: www.prensario.tv FTA groups, TVI, SIC and pubcaster RTP, but also the Representantes: highly-skilled and equipped production companies, Mexico: like SP Televisao, Coral Europa, Valetim do Carvalho, Mariano Alarcón: as well as the international production forces like [email protected] Warner Bros., FremantleMedia and Endemol Portugal Chile: Karina Cortés and Shine Iberia. [email protected] Along with them, it is being reflected the strong Peru: local and international presence of the Independent Miguel Angel Hurtado TV Producers Association (APIT) and the Portuguese [email protected] , . Both entities, Film and Audiovisual Institute ICA Colombia: along with the key distributors, are working together Paola Zapata Lozano to increase the presence in the international [email protected] tradeshows, like MIPCOM, where the Portuguese Ecuador: industry is attending again in a unique booth. Juan Carlos Arias Rendon [email protected] It is a challenging time for the Portuguese industry: a new fund from the Ministry of Tourism is Uruguay: Santiago Rodríguez being implemented to further promote the national [email protected] production, and to invite international companies to Paraguay: produce in the country. It is a great tool to amplify Prince Soledad Otto Portugal in the global market. [email protected] All the players have one specific purpose: to make Portugal know worldwide. And fortunately their aim Editor: Nicolás Smirnoff was the same of PRENSARIO this time: to give a better Editorial Director: approach to these unique landscape. Here we are. Alejo Smirnoff Take a look to this land of opportunities. International Business Director: Fabricio Ferrara International Business Manager: Rodrigo Cantisano Mailed by subscription - One year, air mail: WWW.PRENSARIO.TV Americas: USD 150 Rest of the world: 150 • 4 • PRENSARIO INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS fiction and animation and €250,000 (USD 300,000) for documentaries’. ICA: ‘We aim to put Portugal The executive enumerates 10 good reasons of why international projects on the map of major film and should consider filming in Portugal. First, sunnier days: long hours of sunlight and audiovisual productions’ clear skies almost 300 days of sunshine per year and low levels of precipitation; average temperature of 18°C / 65°F (2017). Second, variety: beaches, castles, The Portuguese Film and Audiovisual ‘Our professionals have a long track monuments, impressive old and Institute (ICA) is the national film agency record on coproduction projects, modern buildings, churches, that, through project funding, provides since Portugal has established cathedrals, monasteries, support for the development of the coproduction agreements with parks, historical villages. Portuguese film and audiovisual industry. more than 60 countries, some Third, accessible It gives financial support to cinema and more recently, like Israel or locations: diversity of audiovisual projects annually through a Morocco, and others that have scenarios in short distance; public tender, which includes several areas been in force for several years, like less than 5 hours from of the cinema and audiovisual Portuguese France, Italy and all the Portuguese North to South by car; three industry. speaking countries, including Brazil. international airports (Lisbon, ICA manages more than 20 support Also, we have recently created a very Porto, Faro); five international (subsidy) programs, including: development competitive incentive system for harbors. Fourth, experienced (film and TV); production (film and TV), international projects that consider and hard working professionals distribution, exhibition, festivals, film literacy, Portugal as a filming destination’. available at competitive promotion, etc. Regarding the audiovisual Regarding how can Portugal rates. Fifth, studio facilities & industry, it supports the Writing and become an audiovisual destiny for equipment at Lisbon and Porto. Development, Innovation; and Production the global content production, Chaby Sixth, affordable cost of living & (fiction, documentary and animation). Vaz answers: ‘Portugal created one great food. Luís Chaby Vaz, president of the Institute of the most competitive incentive Seventh, coproduction treaties since June 2017, explains to PRENSARIO: system in Europe: a cash with more than 50 countries ‘Portugal has a lot to offer to the rebate, funded by the worldwide (Portuguese international market. One of the Tourism Board that speaking countries main advantages of working with applies to film and representing 250 millions) our national producers is that even TV with the minimum and Latin American countries. though we have a very small internal Qualified Portuguese Eight, stable and safe country: market, our industry professionals Production Expenses Portugal is the third safest are very experienced in coproducing (QPPE) of €500,000 country in the world (Global international projects’. (USD 600,000) for Peace Index and 29th in the Corruption Perceptions Index Luís Chaby Vaz, 2017). Ninth, cash rebate for president film productions. Tenth, courtesy location scouting. About the future, he remarks: ‘We want to put Portugal on the map of major film and audiovisual productions. Until now we didn’t had a truly competitive incentive for shooting in Portugal and we believe that with the new formulation of the incentive (a cash rebate system, with lower minimum spending, higher percentage of eligible expenditures, and supported by the Tourism Board, Cinema and Audiovisual Fund) we will be able to place ourselves as a competitive player in the cinema and TV production industry. ‘Also, we have to increase our co- production agreements and international co-production projects. To reach that goal, ICA is investing in several international promotion initiatives on the most relevant events’, Chaby Vaz concludes. (Credits: Miguel A. Lopes/Agencia Lusa) • 8 • PRENSARIO INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS stakeholders. Only that way we would be able to grow internationally and attract APIT: ‘We must monetize our productions for the country’. ‘Our main objective is to increase the contents and make the world market of national contents. How to do it? In two different ways: first, internally by know them’ supporting and incentivizing the current redaction and the future transposition to our legal order from the AVMS Directive and its prevision of establishing The INDEPENDENT TV PRODUCERS ASSOCiaTION According to the executive, Portugal obligations of investments for on-demand (APIT) was born in 1996 with the main is ‘totally fashionable’. Tourism had an and other operators which direct their objective of defending the rights and exponential growth, especially because services to our country, targeting our interests of the independent television of the wheatear and the security that audiences, but are established in another producers. Three years before, private this country has. Besides that, it has great territory’. televisions had appeared in Portugal, professionals and infrastructures. Rare According to Gato with this, it will resulting in the need of producing more light conditions and a lot of willingness be able to change the national law, contents. to work: ‘There are endless advantages’, which currently makes unfeasible any Susana Gato, executive president of she summarizes. kind of jurisdiction of the Portuguese the Association since December 2017, ‘Without any doubt, and acknowledging State towards these services, and to explains to PRENSARIO: ‘We went from a all the programs that are broadcasted become fairer the competition between market with only one public broadcaster, on national television in our daily basis, broadcasters. ‘If we are able to, in the Radio e Televisao de Portugal (RTP) to a we have a natural predisposition to the future, implement (just like Brazil did) a market with three broadcasters. This was production of telenovelas, or what we call minimum number of hours of Independent a big change, which hence created the “big