Brazil Returns in Force at Berlinale
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Brazil’s film industry hits Berlin with a new stride in its step, bringing 46 producers and 80-plus films and projects, according to promotional org Cinema do Brasil, led by chairman André Sturm and manager, Maria Marta.
It is also in the process of receiving part of Brazil’s Paulo Gustavo Law funding, which is pouring RS2.8 billion ($571.1 million) into Brazil’s audiovisual sector, from rich states such as São Paulo to small town video stores.
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Meanwhile, Brazil’s box office is beginning to return to pre-COVID levels, as regional industries fire up in its Northeast and South.
At Berlin, São Paulo City film-TV agency Spcine, which has worked closely with Cinema do Brasil in recent years, is participating in a slew of activities, including AfroBerlin, aimed at bolstering Brazilian-African cooperation, the EFM’s Co-Production Market and Toolbox, a program focusing on diversity and inclusion, says Luiz Toledo, Spcine director of investments and strategic partnerships.
“Betânia,” Marcelo Botta’s portrait of a Northern Brazil community, world premieres in Panorama; Juliana Rojas’s twin migration stories “Cidade; Campo” screen at Encounters.
“We’re excited to be back at the Berlinale, after a two-year absence,” says Simone Oliveira, head of Globo Filmes which co-produces “Cidade; Campo,” while parent Globo is at Berlinale Series Market Selects with “Living on Razor’s Edge,” a TV series from streaming platform Globoplay.
“Most of our delegations are from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro but we will also have companies from the South (for example, Okna, Grafo Audiovisual) and the Northeast (Moçambique, Deberton Filmes, Aroma Filmes),” says Marta who adds that 40%-plus of projects are directed or co-directed by women, a growing trend along with more horror/thrillers, fantasy-themed pics and migration stories.
Brazil’s audiovisual sectors has indeed something to celebrate. Approved by Brazil’s Congress in late 2022, independently of Jair Bolsonaro, the Paulo Gustavo Law is the largest amount of funds ever allocated to them.
Hoped for by April, screen quotas, dormant for a few years, are expected to boost national cinema, which according to Oliveira, was at 1% in January 2023 but leapt to 33% in January this year, thanks to Globo Filmes-backed “My Sister and I” and “Our Home 2” as well as “Killer Mamonas – The Movie,” clocking together more than three million admissions.
“We are determined to bring people back to the cinemas and revive the traditional distribution ecosystem that starts with theatrical releases,” she says, adding that Globo’s P & A spend surpasses that of Hollywood studios in Brazil.
“A number of promising new movies will be released in 2024, including potential blockbusters such as Roberto Santucci’s ‘Os Farofeiros 2,’ Cesar Rodrigues’ ‘Tô de Graça’ and Guel Arraes and Flavia Lacerda’s ‘O Auto da Compadecida 2’; as well as high-profile arthouse movies by Walter Salles (‘Ainda estou aqui’), Andrucha Waddington (‘Vitoria’) and Arraes (‘Grande Sertão,’ ‘Veredas’), among others,” says Leonardo M. Barros, a partner at Conspiração Filmes.
“I hope these and other movies will move Brazil’s traditionally low, approximately 15%-17% theatrical market-share to the healthier 25%-30% range,” he adds.
Also under discussion are local production quotas for streaming platforms, which currently dominate Brazil’s audiovisual market. The industry also hopes for a film shoot incentive for the entire country, now only offered by Rio and São Paulo. Consultancy Olsberg.SPI is preparing a study on the impact of such an incentive, said Rio-based associate Steve Solot. “It usually takes four months and will probably be ready in English and Portuguese by March,” says Solot.
“Everyone is pushing for this, the tourism bureau, the ministries of industry and culture,” said Toledo. São Paulo 20%-30% cash rebate incentives would complement them, he adds.
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