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Broadcasters / RTP / Rtp Grande Reportagem

RTP

Rtp Grande Reportagem

Format

Reportage / Feature documentary

Length

45–60 min

Timeslot

Irregular / Primetime on RTP1

Exposé length

3–5 pages

Editorial tone

Serious, thorough, cosmopolitan. Grande Reportagem is the flagship documentary format of Portuguese public television. Films combine journalistic rigour with narrative depth. Thematically broad — from Portuguese domestic politics to the former colonies in Africa and Brazil. The Lusophone world (Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, East Timor) is the natural horizon. Tone is factual, respectful, never sensationalist. Postcolonial sensitivity matters.

What this format covers

  • ●Portuguese society: economy, emigration, ageing
  • ●Lusophone world: Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde
  • ●Postcolonial themes and historical reckoning
  • ●European integration from Portuguese perspective
  • ●Migration: Portuguese in Europe and the world
  • ●Social inequality, rural depopulation, structural change
  • ●Atlantic geopolitics and relations with Africa/South America

What this format does NOT want

  • ●Purely Central European topics without Lusophone connection
  • ●Entertainment formats or lifestyle
  • ●Science formats without social embedding
  • ●True crime without social context
  • ●Sensationalist or tabloid treatment
  • ●Topics without relevance for Portuguese audience

Visual expectations

International production quality. Locations in Portugal and the Lusophone world — Lisbon, Alentejo, Luanda, São Paulo, Maputo. Atmospheric images that situate places and people. Interview settings on location, not in studio. Archive material for historical references (colonial era, Carnation Revolution, EU accession). Observational passages with respect for protagonists. Visual quality must be internationally competitive.

Expected exposé structure

  1. Título (Portuguese, punchy)
  2. Logline (2–3 sentences: topic, approach, relevance)
  3. Sinopse: the story and its context
  4. Protagonists and experts
  5. Lusophone connection or Portuguese relevance
  6. Locations and access (especially for international shoots)
  7. Narrative arc
  8. Realizador:a, production company, contact

Example productions

  • Grande Reportagem: Os Retornados (Die Rueckkehrer aus den Kolonien)
  • Grande Reportagem: Portugal Emigrante (Portugiesische Emigration)
  • Grande Reportagem: Angola — 50 Anos Depois
  • Grande Reportagem: O Interior que Morre (Das sterbende Hinterland)
  • Grande Reportagem: Brasileiros em Portugal
European perspective required

Editorial notes

Grande Reportagem is the oldest and most prestigious documentary format on Portuguese television, on air since 1981. RTP is Portugal's public broadcaster and also transmits to the Lusophone world (RTP Africa, RTP Internacional). The Lusophone world with over 250 million speakers is the natural horizon. Co-productions with European broadcasters (ARTE, ZDF, BBC) are possible. Postcolonial themes matter but must be handled with sensitivity. Pitch language: Portuguese or English. Funding via ICA (Instituto do Cinema e Audiovisual).

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