Stories of people who chose Portugal —
and the lives they built here.
The Locals follows the journeys of immigrants who have made Portugal their home — chasing opportunity, love, warmth, safety, or simply a different kind of life. Through intimate conversations and candid moments, we explore belonging, identity, and the quiet courage it takes to start over.
Ep. 1 — Lily
Lily is a Chinese woman who left everything behind to open a café in Lisbon. This is her story.
Coming Soon
Ep. 1 — Lily · dropping soon
Episode 1 — Lily · The Locals Docuseries
Two storytellers. One shared belief: that every immigrant story deserves to be heard.
Director & Producer
Laura is a Creative Director, filmmaker, and immersive experience designer with 20 years building award-winning stories for Google, Disney, Netflix, and more. Born in Portugal and rooted between Lisbon and the world, she brings both the intimacy of a local and the curiosity of a global creator to every project. The Locals is deeply personal — it's her own story too.
Director & Editor
Joey is a filmmaker and professional video editor based between Toronto and Lisbon. Known for his precise, empathetic editorial work across commercials, music videos, and documentary, he directed the 2025 short doc Crusty Old Bastard — a film about an aging Canadian truck driver reflecting on his life. He brings a quiet, observational lens to The Locals, letting subjects breathe and stories find their own rhythm.
Follow the journey as we document it.
Follow @thelocals.tvEffective date: April 2025 · Based in Portugal (EU)
This website is operated by The Locals, a web docuseries project by Laura Cortes and Joey Whitelaw, based in Lisbon, Portugal. We are subject to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
We collect minimal data to improve your experience:
We process data based on your consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) for analytics cookies, and our legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)) for essential site functionality.
Under the GDPR, you have the right to: access, rectify, erase, restrict or object to processing of your data, and to data portability. To exercise any right, contact: laura@keepawayfromfire.info
You may withdraw consent at any time by clicking "Reset Cookie Preferences" below or clearing your browser's cookies.
Cookie consent preferences are stored locally in your browser for 12 months and are not sent to our servers.
We use YouTube (Google LLC) for video embedding. Third-party services operate under their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review them.
Questions? Email us at laura@keepawayfromfire.info