The APR engages in permanent monitoring of the policies concerning cinema and in fighting for the existence of an authorial space in Portugal, in favor of cinematography which is rich, diverse, free and independent of political and economic powers.

 

In its fifteen years of existence, the Association has staunchly fought against all forms of threats to artistic freedom, with the historical awareness that this fight has accompanied the life and work of several Portuguese filmmakers.

 

We have been living in troubled times and witnessed great shifts in matters concerning cultural policy. Following 2012, when all funding for cinema was suspended, a new law came into force which put independent filmmaking in Portugal in jeopardy. Not even the long-awaited creation of a Ministry of Culture brought with it an adequate response to our claims. The diversity in perspectives which so exceptionally characterized Portuguese cinema continues to be threatened by a number of actors who, in promiscuous collaboration with public authorities, try to control the conception and implementation of policies and the already-restricted space for production, distribution and screening of film. Thus, this is a crucial point in time which requires a steady and concerted stance by APR in the public arena.

 

Opposition to the legislation which allows for the intervention of private interests in the appointment of members of the ICA jury, defending the directors’ rights in the discussion surrounding contest regulations, and the necessary increase in funding for film production, namely for first works, are all still major battles for the APR.

 

Faced with these demands, the Association has rethought its strategy and its actions: we strengthened internal ties and opened the Association to new directors, making it more porous to the various ways of filmmaking and enlivening the debate between all the generations involved in Portuguese cinema. At the same time, we strengthened the Association’s presence among the national and international film community, who have shown us intense solidarity and understanding in these very complex times for Portuguese cultural policy. We have taken concrete steps to promote the Portuguese public’s relationship with the films of our associates, and we boosted the international visibility of Portuguese cinema through the organization of ACID TRIP PORTUGAL during the 2018 Cannes Film Festival and the launch of a new website and a publication about the APR.