Portugal raised 314 million euros in five years of international productions
The sunny days and blue skies of Portugal are seduced more than tourists. International film productions have also turned the spotlight on the country when drawing up the filming map. The interest of advanced producers of foreign cinema has increased and global foreign investment in the last five years has already amounted to 314 million euros, within the scope of the Tourism and Cinema Support Fund (FATC), according to data by Turismo de Portugal (TdP). ) to Live Money.
Portugal paid 39.3 million euros for these productions, which means that they were sent to 7.7 million euros in the country.
The project mechanism proposed by TdP in conjunction with the Cinema and Audiovisual Institute (ICA), was created in 2018 with the international filming as a promotion of the country that aims to strengthen its positioning as a tourist. The government ensures the payment of expenses for investments of 35 euros for fiction or animation projects and 250 million for documentary or production projects. The fund was launched until 202022, with an endowment of up to 30 million euros, with the possibility of reaching up to 50 million euros. Due to the pandemic, 12 million euros were eventually extended.
In total, 113 of the 152 proposals received were approved between 2018 and 2022, and there are still nine projects under analysis. Payments are made in advance and in stages and this is where one of the struggles that sets the country apart from competitors resides.
“Portugal has positioned itself, for a few years now, as an extremely specific country with regard to the provision of financing mechanisms… , what brought this dynamism is the Cash Rebate, offered by the FATC. Global investment in the country22 for these projects more than quadrupled in 2021 and 2022; if in the first three years of the FATC’s life at 20 million euros, between 5 million euros, between 21 and 222 the value soared by 20 million euros.
“For every euro that the fund invests in Cash Rebate, there are four euros that are spent in Portugal, injected into the Portuguese economy by the original productions. associated with a production”, indicates Manuel Claro, who underlines the importance of the indirect impact of these films.
“In 2018 (pre-covid data), about 80 million tourists chose their tourist destination based on cinematographic and audiovisual works that they visualize and are precisely this market that the capture intends to reach”, assuredly.
IBERIAN PARTNERSHIP
The list of recent projects supported by the FATC includes the first Portuguese original series for Netflix, “Glória”, the second season of the Portuguese-Spanish production “Auga Seca”, for HBO, or the French film “Frankie”.
“There is growing international recognition, which goes through the investment that has been made by major production companies filming in Portugal, as well as by streaming platforms. It is also important to highlight the increase in international co-productions of audiovisual works”, analyzing the spokeswoman for Portuguese Film Commission.
Manuel Claro recognizes that the market for international capture of cinematographic and audiovisual productions is traditionally competitive and that Portugal arrived late, competing with countries that have had identical structures for two decades. Still, there are advantages.
“The fact that we were one of the last European countries to build a system of incentives to capture footage with which it was possible to use the instruments used in other countries and study a very similar one”, he says.
Spain already has a 20-year history in the cinematographic promotion of doors, but the official denies looking at the neighboring country as a threat, making Spain an ally in an Iberian vision of attracting international productions. We are in a particularly positive moment, of great co-productions between Portugal and Spain, which make it much more partners with the competitor”, he assures.
BET ON THE FUTURE
The Tourism and Cinema Support Fund is scheduled to end in 2023. Turismo de Portugal did not respond to Dinheiro Vivo’s questions about future plans and a possible extension of the program. But for Manuel Claro, it is urgent that this is a discussion on the table.
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“In this moment of a government, Portugal and the arrival of a government, Portugal, of us at the time indicated for the power of attorney, of us in the new moment and the strategy for the coming years in a medium/long term scenario, it is us, ourselves and who in the coming years, in a medium/long term scenario. Financial rules to our adjustment of the tools, we need predictability, we need a strong Cash Rebate, we need to have this FATC or to replace it, another calls .