Following this unprecedented level of international success – which Brazil only saw in the early 2000s with Salles’s “Central Station” and Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund’s “City of God” coming out within the space of three years – the eyes of the global industry turned to what the major South American country would do next. The answer? Co-productions.
“Glaxo”
Courtesy of RT Features, Rei Pictures
Brazilian co-productions this year include titles like Abinash Bikram Shah’s “Elephants in the Fog,” Marcelo Martinessi’s “Narciso,” Benjamin Naishtat’s “Glaxo,” Marco Becchis’ “Back to Buenos Aires,” Dominga Sotomayor’s “La Perra” and Bruno Santamaría Razo’s “Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building.”
Santiago says Brazil “really needs to develop” the way it communicates “the dynamics of the business to the wider public.” “Laymen don’t necessarily need to know the minutiae of production; they don’t need to understand complex financial equations, but they need to understand the size of the Brazilian entertainment and audiovisual industry, especially when it comes to how much money it brings to the country.”
“Back to Buenos Aires”
Courtesy of Fandango
34 Filmes producer Cibele Amaral, who worked on Becchis’ Venice competition title “Back to Buenos Aires” alongside an Italian team, said the co-pro model “allows us to have partners with great influence in the international market, which opens great possibilities for the film.”
“Brazil has managed to increase its number of co-productions thanks to assertive public policies that encompass co-production treaties, incentives for international exchange at markets and especially open calls exclusively dedicated to co-productions as part of the Audiovisual Sector Fund (ASF).” The ASF, or the Fundo Setorial Audiovisual, is a public fund created to finance, develop, and support the country’s film and television industry. It is Brazil’s primary financing system, established in 2006, operating under the country’s Ministry of Culture and managed by Brazil’s National Cinema Agency, ANCINE.
Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building
Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building Courtesy of Desvia Filmes
Producer Patrick de Jongh, who also worked on “Back to Buenos Aires,” offers some interesting stats: Between 2015 and 2024, Brazil was part of 242 international coproductions, which corresponds to 10,4% of all Brazilian films. Official co-production requests have grown from 56 in 2023 to 140 in 2025—a 150% jump.
“We have a very successful history of co-producing with Latin America,” says Desvia Filmes’ Rachel Daisy Ellies, who produced “Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building.” “We really understand how to co-produce within Latin America, not just from a creative and cultural point of view, but also how to best navigate the particular bureaucracies of each country, which is a very complex thing to do. We also know how to co-produce with Europe, and we have often worked on co-productions involving two Latin American countries and a European partner, as we feel this works really well.”
“Our producers are very curious and incredibly hard-working,” notes Santiago. “They have this hunger to look for opportunities beyond our borders, which I think is very healthy. I think it sends a very important message about our Brazilian modus operandi and our desire to expand our horizons.”
