I have completed a script where the story takes place in Brazil. Although I want the dialogue to be in Portuguese, the script is in English, as I intend to sell the it on a global market. To avoid actors speaking English in a story that takes place entirely in Brazil, is it better to translate the dialogue into Portuguese before I try to sell the script?
Screenwriting : In what language should I write the dialogue? by Johan Tebelius
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There are probably more English-speaking producers than Portuguese-speaking producers in the global market, Johan Tebelius. I think it'd be better to keep the dialogue in English so more producers will be able to understand what the characters are saying. If you want all of the characters in your script to speak Portuguese, you could write a note on an action line at the start of the script.
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I would write two versions of the screenplay. Would IT sell better in Portuguese? That is the question!
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I follow Maurice Vaughan's advice 100%. Because there is so much industry crossover in film and TV, I suspect writing in English is the standard outside of niche production houses?
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I agree with Maurice. You want to add some words that are very specific to Portuguese in Brazil like Oi or tudo bem and add a translation the first time you mention them.
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I'm currently working on a piece in Spanish but I am not a native speaker, so I have a note in the beginning of the script that states "all dialogue in italics will be said in Spanish." I've also seen parentheticals used to differentiate language but I feel that could get visually messy over the course of the script. I agree with Maurice Vaughan that the safer bet for readability among potential producers is to write it in English initially and have it translated before shooting.
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I follow Maurice Vaughan advice. I am Portuguese and I wrote my script in English. Of course I can always to write in Portuguese, but in ENG, producers will understand it!
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Thank you all for the comments. It makes sense to write in English, as Portuguese speaking producers probably will understand English, but not necessarily the other way round. To translate my script to Portuguese before it is sold is too much of an effort. I will add a note as Maurice Vaughan propose, in the beginning of the script, that all dialogue is in Brazilian Portuguese.
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You're welcome, Johan Tebelius.
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Alot of good advice in this thread, I agree with alot of these thoughts!