REAL FICÇÃO - About Us

Founded in 1986, REAL FICÇÃO - Cinevídeo e Multimédia is a production company that was born with its eyes set on the world. Throughout forty years of activity dedicated to cinema and audiovisuals—not only in production but also in distribution, editing, and programming—the company's distinct identity has been built in close relationship with various Portuguese-speaking communities. Preserving an interventionist spirit regarding the present, this production company has viewed cinema as a permanent tool to respond to social, political, and economic reality. The vitality of its body of work lies in its focus on social intervention: its filmography groups studies on life in the peripheries, on the most vulnerable groups in society, on ethnic and racial minorities, on Portugal's relationship with its African past, and on emblematic figures of national culture.

By deepening knowledge about the legacy of the most prominent figures in thought and culture, it counts on numerous collaborations in the fields of Dance, Theater, Music, Architecture, and Visual Arts. Its path, marked by diverse collaborations, is fundamentally grounded in a joint reflection on society and its History. While its activity takes place mostly in the field of Creative Documentary, its curriculum also includes genres such as Fiction, Animation, Video Art, Institutional Video Installation, Multimedia, Urban Intervention, and Visual Sculpture.

Over the years, its activity has expanded to complementary areas, namely Training, Graphic Design, and Editing and Post-production Services. Investing in Distribution and Publishing, it has played an important role in the dissemination and promotion of Portuguese documentaries to the general public. Direct contact with society is the basis of a cinema that reveals itself across various stages and territories, both at home and abroad, spreading through cinemas, auditoriums, theaters, television channels, as well as DVD and VOD services.

Throughout a widely exhibited and distinguished career, REAL FICÇÃO has developed co-production partnerships with several countries, with an emphasis on those belonging to the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries). In this context, establishing partnerships with entities and directors from the Lusophone Community has proven crucial for the distribution and promotion of Portuguese-language cinematography.

Successively accepting new challenges and seeking to expand, the production company has been a regular presence in various international film and audiovisual markets, being represented by several international distributors. Seeking to enhance the sharing between experienced and emerging creators, REAL FICÇÃO has been actively contributing to the support and production of works by young directors.

Real Ficção is a member of APCA - Associação de Produtores de Cinema e Audiovisual.

RUI SIMÕES

realizador e produtor

Rui Simões studied Film and Television Direction at the Institut des Arts de Diffusion in Brussels. He began his professional relationship with cinema in Belgium as a still photographer. Later, in 1974 and in Portugal, he began his filmmaking career, directing two feature-length documentaries about the post-revolutionary period: God, Fatherland, Authority and Good Portuguese People.

In 1986, he founded the production company Real Ficção, serving as the producer for all his films and developing his work as a documentarian deeply connected to social themes and the arts.

He conceived and served as the Image Director for Praça Sony during Expo’98, and as the resident director, he directed more than 200 live shows for the Jumbotron giant screen. He designed and coordinated the training of video and multimedia technicians who went on to form the resident video team at Praça Sony, and he was the coordinator of the IMAGENS e NOVAS TENDÊNCIAS project, part of the Portuguese priority programming for this Exposition.

In 2014, he received the Portuguese Cinema Personality Career Award at the 5th edition of the Ribeira Grande Short Film Festival in the Azores. In 2021, he received the Cinema and Theater Merit Award from the INATEL Foundation. In 2024, he was awarded the Sophia Career Award by the Portuguese Academy of Cinema.

JACINTA BARROS

produtora e produtora executiva

Graduated in Contabilidade e Administração from the Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto in 1994, and registered with the Ordem dos Contabilistas Certificados since 1995, she began her career in the film and audiovisual sector that same year.

She attended workshops in Cine-video and Multimedia, as well as Copyright and Related Rights at the Centro de Formação do CCB.

In 1998, she was the Executive Coordinator of the Video and Multimedia Technicians Course at Praça Sony for Expo’98 and held the position of Assistant Image Director at Praça Sony, where she was also responsible for the continuity of the broadcast on the Jumbotron.

In 1999, she became a partner at Real Ficção, where she has since performed the duties of Producer for all films.