Primeira Idade

Primeira Idade is an independent film production company based in Lisbon, Portugal. The company works primarily in feature films, short films, hybrid documentary, and international co-production. Its publicly documented filmography is associated with contemporary Portuguese cinema and with projects made in collaboration with filmmakers and production companies from France, Germany, Angola, and Singapore. The company’s best-known production is The Metamorphosis of Birds, a hybrid documentary directed by Catarina Vasconcelos. The film had its world premiere at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2020, where it screened in the Encounters section and received the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film in that section. The film’s festival recognition gave Primeira Idade a prominent international profile and connected the company with the festival and arthouse documentary circuits. Primeira Idade’s short-film work includes Ruby, directed by Mariana Gaivão, which won the Best Director Award at the Curtas Vila do Conde Festival in 2019 and later screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in January 2020. The company has also been associated with films such as Ghosts: Long Way Home by Tiago Siopa, Bird’s Nest by Miguel de Jesus, and Look No Further by André Marques. Its production activity extends beyond Portugal through co-productions, including Look No Further with France’s Offshore Films, Bad Bunny with France’s Epicentre Films, Fado with Germany’s StickUp Filmproduktion, Wake Up, Leviathan with Angola’s Mirabilis Produções, and Snakeskin with Singapore’s 13 Little Pictures. The company’s international co-production activity is particularly illustrated by Snakeskin, directed by Singaporean filmmaker Daniel Hui. The film was recognized at several international documentary and film festivals, including the Special Jury Award at the Torino Film Festival, an Award of Excellency in the New Asian Currents section of the Yamagata Documentary Film Festival, and a Special Jury Mention at the Montreal International Documentary Festival. Based on the available public material, Primeira Idade is best characterized as a filmmaker-oriented production house rather than a mass-market entertainment brand. Its positioning centers on auteur cinema, festival circulation, short-form filmmaking, documentary and hybrid forms, and cross-border production partnerships. Public sources do not establish a founding year, founder, ownership structure, corporate parent, or current executive roster.

Primeira Idade is a Lisbon-based independent Portuguese film production company whose publicly documented activities span feature films, short films, hybrid documentary, and international co-production. Available reference material does not identify the company’s founding year, founder, corporate ownership, or management structure. Its profile is instead defined through the films it has produced or co-produced and their circulation through major international festivals. The company’s documented filmography begins with the international co-production Snakeskin in 2014. Directed by Singaporean filmmaker Daniel Hui, the film was made with Singapore’s 13 Little Pictures and later received several festival distinctions, including a Special Jury Award at the Torino Film Festival, an Award of Excellency in the New Asian Currents section of the Yamagata Documentary Film Festival, and a Special Jury Mention at the Montreal International Documentary Festival. This project demonstrates Primeira Idade’s early involvement in cross-border production and its connection to independent Asian and European film networks. In 2015, Primeira Idade co-produced Wake Up, Leviathan, directed by Carlos Conceição, with Angola’s Mirabilis Produções. The company continued its international partnerships with Fado, directed by Jonas Rothlaender and co-produced with Germany’s StickUp Filmproduktion, and Bad Bunny, directed by Carlos Conceição and co-produced with France’s Epicentre Films. Bad Bunny reached the Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week, where it had its world premiere in 2017. These projects expanded the company’s production relationships across Europe and Portuguese-speaking Africa while maintaining a focus on director-led cinema. The company’s 2019 slate included several short or shorter-form projects: Ghosts: Long Way Home by Tiago Siopa, Bird’s Nest by Miguel de Jesus, Ruby by Mariana Gaivão, and Look No Further by André Marques. Look No Further was made in co-production with France’s Offshore Films. Ruby became one of Primeira Idade’s notable festival successes after Mariana Gaivão received the Best Director Award at Curtas Vila do Conde in 2019; the film later screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in January 2020. Primeira Idade achieved its clearest international recognition with The Metamorphosis of Birds, directed by Catarina Vasconcelos. Described as a feature-length hybrid documentary, the film premiered at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2020 in the Encounters section. It won the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film in that section, establishing the production as a significant entry in contemporary Portuguese and international festival cinema. Taken together, the available record presents Primeira Idade as a small, independent production house built around collaborations with individual directors and partner companies. Its work covers fiction, documentary, hybrid cinema, and short films, with distribution and visibility driven largely by festival premieres and awards rather than by evidence of a large commercial studio operation. No reliable public information in the supplied material establishes its current scale, revenue, workforce, executive leadership, or subsequent productions.

• 2020

  The Metamorphosis of Birds receives the FIPRESCI Award

  [1]Primeira Idadeen.wikipedia.org

  The Metamorphosis of Birds premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and won the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film in the Encounters section.

• 2019

  Ruby wins a directing award

  [1]Primeira Idadeen.wikipedia.org

  Ruby, directed by Mariana Gaivão, received the Best Director Award at the Curtas Vila do Conde Festival.

• 2017

  Bad Bunny premieres at Cannes

  [1]Primeira Idadeen.wikipedia.org

  Carlos Conceição’s Bad Bunny had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week.

• 2016

  Co-production of Fado and Bad Bunny

  [1]Primeira Idadeen.wikipedia.org

  Primeira Idade was associated with Fado, made with Germany’s StickUp Filmproduktion, and Bad Bunny, made with France’s Epicentre Films.

• 2015

  Co-production of Wake Up, Leviathan

  [1]Primeira Idadeen.wikipedia.org

  The company co-produced Carlos Conceição’s Wake Up, Leviathan with Angola’s Mirabilis Produções.

• 2014

  International co-production of Snakeskin

  [1]Primeira Idadeen.wikipedia.org

  Primeira Idade co-produced Daniel Hui’s Snakeskin with Singapore’s 13 Little Pictures, a project that later received recognition at festivals in Torino, Yamagata, and Montreal.

An independent, auteur-focused Portuguese film production company with an emphasis on festival-oriented cinema, documentary and hybrid forms, short films, and international co-production.

• Feature-length hybrid documentary · 2020

  The Metamorphosis of Birds

  A feature-length hybrid documentary directed by Catarina Vasconcelos and produced by Primeira Idade. It premiered in the Encounters section at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2020 and won the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film in that section.

• Short fiction film · 2019

  Ruby

  A short fiction film directed by Mariana Gaivão. The film won the Best Director Award at the Curtas Vila do Conde Festival in 2019 and was screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in January 2020.

• International co-production · 2014

  Snakeskin

  A film directed by Singaporean filmmaker Daniel Hui and co-produced with 13 Little Pictures in Singapore. Its festival record includes a Special Jury Award at the Torino Film Festival, an Award of Excellency at the Yamagata Documentary Film Festival, and a Special Jury Mention at the Montreal International Documentary Festival.

• Short film · 2016

  Bad Bunny

  A film directed by Carlos Conceição and co-produced with France’s Epicentre Films. It had its world premiere at the 70th Cannes Film Festival in Critics’ Week.

• Short film · 2019

  Look No Further

  A film directed by André Marques and made in co-production with France’s Offshore Films.

• Film · 2019

  Ghosts: Long Way Home

  A 2019 film directed by Tiago Siopa and included in Primeira Idade’s documented filmography.

• Film · 2019

  Bird’s Nest

  A 2019 film directed by Miguel de Jesus and included in the company’s documented filmography.

• Film · 2016

  Fado

  A film directed by Jonas Rothlaender and co-produced with Germany’s StickUp Filmproduktion.

• Film · 2015

  Wake Up, Leviathan

  A film directed by Carlos Conceição and co-produced with Angola’s Mirabilis Produções.

1. 1Primeira Idadeen.wikipedia.org