The Government has granted public utility status to Ao Norte – Association for Production and Animation Audiovisual, based in Viana do Castelo. The order was signed by the Secretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Tiago Macieirinha. This status allows the association access to tax benefits and government support, reinforcing its capacity for social action.
The association was founded by public deed on December 2, 1994, and carries out its activities in the artistic and cultural field. Its purposes include film club activities, audiovisual training and production, as well as development education in the areas of teaching, education and culture. It also promotes the production of documentaries of a social and ethnographic nature and intervenes in development education to promote values of solidarity and justice.
The opinion for the granting of the status was approved by the City Council of Viana do Castelo in September 2024. The association cooperates with various public administration entities, including the Polytechnic University of Viana do Castelo, the school groupings of Monte da Ola and Santa Maria Maior, the Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual and the municipality of Viana do Castelo.
Since 1996, Ao Norte has collaborated with the local authority on a cultural development project in the area of cinema and audiovisual, which aims to democratize access to film enjoyment and youth training. Through this partnership, projects such as film club sessions, the image workshop, the Schools in Close-Up project, the documentation centre and the Encontros de Viana – Cinema e Vídeo festival were created. In 2014, the City Council of Viana do Castelo had already granted the association the status of Institution of Merit.
