The event will take place at the Belem Cultural Center in Lisbon, Portugal, from April 28th to the 30th, 2020, and act as a showcase for Portuguese fiction.
Inside Content, the organizing company of Conecta Fiction, announced on Wednesday the creation of a new international event: ONSeries Lisboa, the only event dedicated exclusively to Portuguese fiction for television.
As detailed, the showcase will be held on April 28 and 29, 2020 at the Belém Cultural Center, also known as CCB, a cultural complex located in the Belém neighborhood, opposite the Praça do Império and the Los Jerónimos Monastery .
It will focus on content already produced and also on projects in search of funding and will aim to provide a platform to celebrate and promote local talent, on and off screen.
ONSeries Lisboa has the institutional sponsorship of the Government of Portugal through the Ministry of Culture and the Lisbon City Council.
In addition to the support of the Association of Independent Television Producers of Portugal, (APIT), of the Association for Collective Management of Copyright and Cinematographic and Audiovisual Producers, (GEDIPE), the Belém Cultural Center Foundation (CCB), the Portugal Film Commission and the Lisbon Film Commission, the Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual, IP – (ICA), and RTP, the public radio broadcast of Portugal.
“This is an excellent opportunity for Portuguese companies and creators to show the potential of our creativity and diversity to a highly qualified and relevant audience for the future of our audiovisual. This is why the ICA together with the Portugal Film Commission are associated with the event, continuing the plan for the internationalization of Portuguese cinema and productions, that has been implemented with good results,” said Luís Chaby Vaz, president of the Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual.
A selected group of buyers, co-producers and press from all over the world will arrive in Lisbon to discover an interesting selection of new Portuguese television series with new talent, new plots and a different way of creating and telling stories. They can also meet the companies that sell the contents of Portugal and negotiate international co-production agreements.
One-to-one meetings will give Portuguese producers a new strategic look at how to be competitive in the current content market, identifying new business opportunities for Portuguese audiovisuals and new international partners with whom to collaborate.
Gonçalo Reis, president of RTP, said: “We think it is a great initiative, at the right time, in the right place, and for the right sector. Audiovisual production in Portugal, especially in the field of fiction, is going through a phase of strong evolution, with an increasing level of quality and a diverse and interesting offer. And more and more with global ambition. RTP has carried out several international co-productions and we will continue to invest in this line. In this context, an event like ONSeries can be an excellent example of national creative capacity and an opportunity for the development of international associations”.
The forum, they explained, is designed so that doable co-productions can arise, with two Pitching sessions for new projects; one exclusively designed to find international partners and / or sales for Portuguese projects and another specially designed for co-production projects between Portugal and Navarra.
«We want to put the key decision makers of the international industry in direct contact with the incredible resources of Portugal. This showcase plays a vital role in making Portugal a viable option for many actors in the international industry. Lisbon is a vibrant and modern city that is proud of its heritage, is internationally recognized for the warmth of its people and the quality of its services. ONSeries Lisboa is the best way to see the viability of a co-production and, of course, it will serve to attract investments. On the other hand, there has always been a cultural link between Portugal and Navarra and, as organizers of Conecta Fiction, we will generate a very fast physical link between the producers in Portugal and Navarra. Both parties feel that it is the right time to put together the first project exchange program between Portugal and Navarra,” said Géraldine Gonard, director of ONSeries Lisboa.
