It’s not just about the money when it comes to building a center for film and TV production, and Portugal knows that. That was one of the key messages from a panel of local representatives who discussed “Portugal on Screen: A high-growth market for global streamers and content operators” during a session at the inaugural StreamTV Europe in Lisbon, which attracted a packed crowd.
Ana Marques, Executive Director of the Portuguese Film Commission, highlighted the attractive mix of locations, financial incentives and a focus on sustainability as key to making the country attractive for foreign productions. Among the famous foods made in Portugal, she mentioned the local drama that became a hit on Netflix The turning of the tidesWhich witnessed three seasons Dragon Housewhich features the historic Monsanto Village as a location, star wars series assistantwhich was A film filmed on the Portuguese island of Madeira Heart of stoneAnd Netflix The girl.
“We want to be aspirational because of our great locations,” Marquez said. “We also have our incentives, so we want to be attractive, and we want to be sustainable. Sustainability is really important to us.”
She highlighted how in 2024 the country launched a new and “competitive” incentive scheme for greater production “in response to demand”.
Working in coordination with foreign partners is another key piece of the puzzle. “We love co-production,” explained Susanna Gatto, CEO of APIT, the Association of Independent Television Producers.
Examples of this are the ones she pointed out A cool havenco-production with Iceland. Psychological thriller series whose Portuguese title is Do Meadow Shelterproduced by SPi in Portugal and Glasriver in Iceland.
The Committee also stressed that Portugal has more than 60 co-production agreements.
Technology is also part of Portugal’s focus on ensuring it is an attractive and successful production center in the age of digital media and artificial intelligence. Gil Azevedo, CEO of the Lisbon Unicorn Factory, an initiative launched by the Mayor of Lisbon to transform the city into a leading center of innovation. “It was about gaining scale, and technology is also part of Portugal’s focus on ensuring it is an attractive and successful center of production in the age of digital media and artificial intelligence,” said Gil Azevedo, CEO of Unicorn Factory Lisboa, an initiative launched by the Mayor of Lisbon to transform the city into a leading center of innovation. “It was about gaining scale, and [we see] “AI as a tool to move faster. It’s about democratizing access, and we have great technology companies in Portugal,” he said.
Marques said that sometimes, as is the case in many countries, Portugal can be more flexible, but her team continues to work with the government and other key partners and stakeholders to further improve the country’s attractiveness for production. “Although the film commission has only been working since 2019, being so new, we have noticed a great interest in Portugal and in the Portuguese conditions of filming here,” she said. He added: “We are now launching a new program for the next four years, that is, until 2029, worth 350 million euros ($412 million) with two different incentives.” She and her team are ready for more film and television productions to make the trip to Portugal.
