Nurturing the future of the Film Industry in the region
"About the Algarve. Produced in the Algarve. Watched around the world. Made proudly in Portugal.”
The first scriptwriters workshop took place at Spy Manor in December 2020.
It was a pleasure to welcome ten talented local scriptwriters and a few experienced writers and producers to our three day workshop at Spy Manor. Two themes have been picked and will be further developed within the next few months, they cover interesting modern themes that showcase Portugal’s rich heritage, creativity and culture.
We created a dedicated Instagram account with the handle Script.In.Motion for the Workshop and the hashtag #ScriptinMotion to encourage all writers to share their day to day challenges, tips and inspiration for their own creative process. You can follow their work on https://www.instagram.com/script.in.motion.
Following the workshop, a further 6 to 9 months writing collaboration will continue with the pre-selected writers.
The result will culminate in a compelling pitch, a fully scripted episode, series story arcs and outline of future episodes.
Our Mission is to support and nurture the creation of authentic Algarve rooted content that appeals to the international audience. The content will be pitched further to the international streaming services, broadcasters and networks to develop an Algarve-based television series.
Being at the core of the Algarve Film Collective network, we aspire to engage our local community talents and skills, fostering an opportunity for us all to flourish together.
The Portugal Film Commission expressed interest and support of the initiative, acknowledging the importance of the workshop and the strong impact to the Algarve region.
Scriptwriters selected to participate in the workshop:
- Ana Delgado Martins
- Luís Cardoso
- Jessica Palmeiro
- Raquel & Rita Ferreira
- André Coelho
- Daniel Azevedo
- João Freire Pelica
- Debbie Simmons
- Nélia Matos
Guest speakers and mentors were:
- Pedro Lopes, author of Glória, Netflix’s first Portuguese original series directed by Tiago Guedes which began production this year
- Vera Casaca, the Algarvian screenwriter and director behind the films “On the Phone with God” and “If Poirot was Here”
- Luís Campos, screenwriter and producer, founder of Squatter Factory
- Nissan Stern, Head of Content Development at Spy Manor
- Emily Morgan, a UK based producer and production manager, recently having completed a Supernova film with Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci
- David Allain, a UK scriptwriter and director whose work recently won the distinction award for CNN for the “Best Inspirational Communication Campaign”
- Peter Ogunsalu, Spy Manor Production’s producer and business development executive
Among other guests joining the workshop, we also welcomed:
- Manuel Claro, Film Commissioner, representing Portugal Film Commission
- Manuel Baptista, leading the Loulé Film Office