Petrobras will invest R$250 million in cultural projects throughout Brazil

A day to celebrate national culture and mark the launch of the largest investment ever made by Petrobras in Brazilian culture will bring together the presidents of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and of Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, and the Minister of Culture, Margareth Menezes, at the Museum of Modern Art (MAM) in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. Together, they will announce the opening of applications for the Petrobras Cultural Public Selection - New Axes, the company's new call for proposals to sponsor Brazilian cultural projects. Lula, Jean, and Margareth will point out that the 2024 selection edition will allocate R$250 million to cultural actions that promote diversity and inclusion and move the creative economy in the country's five regions.
 
The initiative aims to sponsor projects with elements of Brazilianness from all over the country to make up the new axes of the recently revamped Petrobras Cultural Program, which are: "Production and Distribution," "Icons of Brazilian Culture," "Cinema and Digital Culture," and "Festivals and Popular Festivities." Proposals for the programming of cultural venues, artistic shows, exhibitions, film production, the maintenance of artistic groups, digital projects, various themed festivals, regional festivals, and others can participate in selecting a total of ten different types of sponsorship actions.  
 
Applications can be submitted until April 8. The projects must be enrolled in the Rouanet Law or the Audiovisual Law, which can be done after the selection process results.

The Petrobras Cultural Selection - New Axes launch ceremony will be broadcast on Petrobras' YouTube channel at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKFv74mPEbk.  
 
Diversity: Territories, filmmakers, audiences, and themes
 
To promote diversity, diversify the opportunities available across territories, and value regionalities, the Petrobras Selection will award additional points to projects from the North, Northeast, and Midwest regions (historically receiving less investment in cultural projects) and projects with actions in at least 3 Brazilian regions.
 
Each region will receive at least 15% of the total amount of the selection to ensure a more effective distribution of the selected projects. In addition, each state in the country must be the venue for at least two projects.
 
The valorization of different identities will occur through mechanisms to promote greater participation by members of historically under-represented groups. In addition to the requirement for actions that take diversity into account in the proposals, there will be a reserve of 25% of the places for projects proposed, led by, or featuring as their main theme: women, black people, people from indigenous peoples, traditional communities (including terreiros [Candomblé worship place] and quilombolas), nomadic populations and gypsy peoples, people from the LGBTQIAPN+ segment, people with disabilities and members of other groups in situations of vulnerability or under-representation in society.  
 
Creative Economy
 
Another cross-cutting dimension of the Petrobras Cultural Program, the creative economy, refers to initiatives that seek to boost economic growth, innovation, social development, and cultural diversity, promoting a connection between culture, technology, entrepreneurship, and sustainability and stimulating job creation and social inclusion.
 
In this context, actions contributing to the creative economy are mandatory for all registered projects. Some examples are the mobilization of filmmaker networks in the project's segment, cultural entrepreneurship, and the training and development of intellectual capital in the cities where the projects will be carried out, together with the local interested public.
 
In line with one of Petrobras' strategic objectives, sustainability actions in the projects, such as recycling, carbon footprint compensation, and active participation in environmental campaigns, will also be considered part of the creative economy universe. 
 
Applications
 
Whether for-profit or not, legal entities with a valid CNPJ of a cultural nature can apply to the Petrobras Cultural Selection by submitting their projects; applications from individuals, MEIs (individual micro-enterprises), or EIs (individual companies) will not be accepted for this selection process. Projects must start between August 21, 2024, and August 20, 2025, with a maximum duration of twelve months. The exception is feature films, which must indicate the expected release in cinemas or on streaming as their starting date. All the details are in the program's notice and available on the Petrobras website.
 
Applications are free and must be made exclusively on the digital platform petrobras.com.br/cultural/selecoes-publicas-culturais from February 23 to April 8. Check out the full schedule of stages: 
 
Applications - 02/23/24 to 04/08/24
Project selection - April to July
Announcement of results - July
Start of sponsorship contracts - from July onwards
Project start date - in August