“Considering the results of the public consultation launched at the end of the previous legislature, the SCRI.PT program for the development and internationalization of audiovisual and cinematographic productions will be refined and implemented,” states the OE2026 proposal submitted to parliament today.
The SCRI.PT – Audiovisual and Cinema Industry Financing Program was approved by the previous Government, led by Luís Montenegro, and was under public consultation between April and June.
The legislative draft under consultation anticipated an investment estimate of 250 million euros to be applied by 2028 and a restructuring of the support and incentive system for cinema and audiovisual.
In September, an official source from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports told Lusa that it had received 42 contributions from various entities, “namely producers’ associations and others representing subsectors in the Cinema and Audiovisual area, large companies, unions, and independent creators.”
The same source stated that a working group had been established “with representatives from the Minister of the Presidency’s office, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports’ office, and the Secretary of State for Tourism’s office, responsible for preparatory work.”
One of the measures from the proposal that was under public consultation combines the current ‘cash rebate’ and ‘cash refund’ incentive mechanisms into a single program to “make the best use of available resources.”
These two incentive mechanisms, which are currently in force and complementary, aim to attract foreign film and audiovisual productions that involve Portuguese producers and incur expenses in Portugal, based on criteria varying according to project size.
The Government proposed merging these two mechanisms into a new “Audiovisual and Cinematographic Production Incentive Scheme — RIPAC,” to be created by decree-law and managed and executed by Turismo de Portugal, under the Ministry of the Economy.
Another proposal of the SCRI.PT program was to establish a production support credit line of 50 million euros, managed by Banco Português de Fomento, “in coordination” with Turismo de Portugal and the Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual.
To implement all this, the executive outlined an investment estimate of 250 million euros by 2028, with 200 million euros allocated to RIPAC and 50 million euros to the credit line.
Regarding the State Budget proposal for 2026, the Government maintains the transfer of 14 million euros to the Tourism and Cinema Support Fund, through which the ‘cash rebate’ mechanism is provided.
Of these 14 million euros, 12 million euros “come from the balance of operations of Turismo de Portugal, originating from refunds to beneficiaries of European funds,” and two million euros are from the Office of Strategy, Planning, and Cultural Evaluation.
[Updated at 14:30]
