Portuguese TV: Titles to Track at Conecta Fiction
TOLEDO, Spain — Less than a decade ago, the number of international premium series, beyond its telenovelas, coming out of Portugal each year could be counted on one hand. Following, 20 titles from Portugal being moved at this week’s Conecta Fiction & Entertainment where Portugal is one of its Focus Countries. Wide ranging and ambitious, the titles confirm Portugal’s TV revolution.
“Aquarium” (West Coast, Portugal)
From the Azores-based doc producer West Coast, driving into fiction from 2023, a social dramedy inspired by the 2003 best-seller “Tomorrow at the Same Time, Diary of a Portuguese Stripper).” Leila, 30, abandons days as a marine biologist for nights as the first Portuguese stripper at the prestigious Medusa Club. Written by Brazil’s Marina Schneider, “‘Aquarium’ questions what it is to be a woman today, through the critical and oneiric eyes of two young Brazilian authors,” say directors Stella Carneiro, writer of Marcelo Gomes’ “Joaquim,” and Portugal’s Saul Neves and Virgílio Ferreira.
“Azul” (SIC, Portugal)
Created and directed by two-time Portugal Academy Sophia Award nominee Pedro Varela and produced by Blanche Filmes and Opto, this dystopian drama is currently in post-production, with its first episodes planned for delivery later this year. Set in a world where no whales have been seen in the wild for more than a year, Olivia, the daughter of a famous biologist, joins a group of activists working to bring whales back to the seas. The show will use adventure and dystopian codes to deliver an environmental message that is informative and entertaining in equal parts. SIC will distribute in Portugal and work with local partners to get the series out in other territories.
“Cacau” (TVI, Plural Entertainment, Portugal)
Created and written by Maria João Costa “Payback”) and directed by Edgar Miranda (“South”), “Cacau” bowed on Jan. 15 on TVI to a standout 19.5% share. Robustly solidly Onza Distribution, including a ground-breaking deal with Mediaset España, it follows Cacau, a young chocolatier, as she navigates love and family complications while trying to achieve her dreams in the beautiful cocoa plantations of Brazil. “‘Cacau’ can be described as a ‘family saga romance drama,’ the series mixes elements
