Brazilian Audiovisual Content Institute (Instituto de Contenidos Audiovisuales Brasileños – ICAB), has announced this last Friday that Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios will allocate around R$ 5.3 million (about USD 1), to support the Brazilian audiovisual community during the pandemic period. The donation will be made for the Aid Fund created by ICAB and Netflix in 2020, with the aim of providing support to the Brazilian creative community as the different audiovisual productions are resumed in the country.
In addition to the support in Brazil, resources will also be given to other Latin American countries where Amazon is producing content, such as Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. As reported by ICAB, Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios ‘are working closer with organizations in those countries, with the purpose of supporting the audiovisual community and its professionals’. Donations are expected to be completed during the first two quarters this year.
‘As we increase the number of local productions in Latin America, we understand the importance of the creative community for the success of producing high-quality Amazon Originals movies and TV series for our global audience, and it is essential for us to help this community during the pandemic’, reported Malu Miranda, Head of Originals Brazil at Amazon Studios. From ICAB they explained that the donation made by Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Studios is intended to provide sources to the most diverse audiovisual production talents, as production activities are resumed. Qualified people will need to sign up to get resources from the fund.
Amazon Studios has launched several local Amazon Originals series recently in Latin America. Some of them are ‘Diablo Guardian’, ‘El Juego de las Llaves’, ‘Pan y Circo’, ‘LOL (Last One Laughing)’; ‘De Viaje con los Derbez’, ‘Como Sobrevivir Soltero’ and ‘Un Extraño Enemigo’ (Mexico); ‘Tudo ou Nada: Seleção Brasileira’ and ‘Soltos em Floripa’ (Brazil); ‘Dignidad’ (Chile); and Colombian comedian Ivan Marin specials (Colombia). As reported by ICAB, Amazon Studios is currently developing and producing new scripted and unscripted original series and original films in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Uruguay.
In March 2020, Netflix created an aid fund to support the creative community, managed by ICAB. In September, ICAB reported that the fund provided assistance to 5 thousand workers and freelancers in the film and TV industries of the 27 states of the country that were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.