The first edition of ONSeries Lisboa, an upstart marketplace and networking event set to be run by Conecta Fiction producers Inside Content, has been rescheduled to Sept. 28-29, 2020. Originally scheduled to take place April 28-29, organizers have moved back the inaugural edition in response to the spread of COVID-19 across Europe and particularly the Iberian Peninsula.
“This is a time of great international concern and we do not wish to unnecessarily expose participants and workers to any potential risk,” said Géraldine Gonard, director of ONSeries Lisboa and Conecta Fiction, in a press release issued on Friday night.
She went on: “No doubt in September we will have the opportunity to present Portuguese content and talent to all those international executives who had already asked to participate, and we will add many more countries that.”
She added: “Unfortunately, because of the health and sanitation circumstances and the closure of borders and airspace at this time, they cannot travel to Lisbon. We hope the situation created by the coronavirus pandemic is monitored and resolved shortly.”
An international drama series co-production forum and networking event, pushing in particular a Portugal-Spain axis, ONSeries Lisboa will take place at the Belém Cultural Center in the Portuguese capital city. There, projects currently in development will be offered opportunities to seek out funding from international partners.
While attendance will be open to industry members from around the globe, the two-day event will offer a platform for the promotion of local talent and Portuguese facilities and shooting locations.
It will also allow for Portuguese producers to interact with their international counterparts and learn ways that others are staying competitive in the current content market, while seeking out new business opportunities and collaborators.
Financed in part by the Portuguese Government through the Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Lisbon, ONSeries Lisboa will receive additional support from a slew of Portuguese institutions, suggesting a national consensus that such an event is needed.