As São Paulo State and Brazil at large gears up its funding for film, TV, vid games and beyond, there is a distinct possibility that Brazil’s Congress will approve this year a global streamer investment quota for Brazilian films and series. If that happens, it could see R$700 million-R$800 million ($122 million-$140 million) being invested in independent Brazilian production, producer Fabiano Gullane (“Senna”) estimates.
Already Brazil is Latin America’s comeback story and its players, thanks to “I’m Still Here” and “Senna” walk the world stage. Following, the often remarkable São Paulo companies known to be at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, often aided in their attendance by São Paulo State. As often frequent international co-producers, they are well worth knowing. A drill-down on companies at Berlin, with some more to come.
44 Toons, Ale McHaddo
An animation studio and, from 2016, live action producer behind toon series “Osmar” and Netflix Brazil hit “Love is a Hard Job.” Headed by McHaddo, a trans woman with a passion for comedy, performing stand-up in Brazilian comedy clubs. “I want to tell stories from my perspective keeping it fun and for all audiences,” McHaddo tells Variety. Now prepping a comedy, an animated feature and a documentary, all telling transgender stories. “We believe that movies can break prejudice and now is the time to tell stories like that,” she adds.
Biônica Filmes, Karen Castanho
Launched in 2012 by Bianca Villar, Fernando Frahia and Karen Castanho and the producer of the highest-grossing Brazilian movie of the year in 2014, 2019 and 2021. It also produced HBO Latin America series “PSI,” which scored three Intl. Emmy nominations. That said, it has a remarkable range of voices backing Carolina Markowicz’s “Charcoal” and “Toll” and now another iconic female director from Brazil, “The Second Mother’s” Anna Muylaert, whose “The Best Mother in the World” world premieres as a Berlinale Special. Also at the Berlinale Co-Production Market with Markowicz’s upcoming “The Funeral.”
Boutique Filmes, Gustavo Mello
Would TV history have been different without Boutique Filmes? It produced “3%,” Netflix’s second fully non English-language series, bowing in 2016, whose vast success outside Brazil emboldened Netflix’s move into local production worldwide. Pioneering Netflix Brazilian true crime producing “Elize Matsunaga: Once Upon a Crime,” having also worked with Globoplay, Prime Video, Disney+ and Max and driving ever more into international co-production, Boutique is at Berlin with “Suture,” which plays Berlin Series Market Selects. It’s “an international medical-thriller rollercoaster ride,” Mello promises.
Conspiraçao, Juliana Capelini
A producer on “I’m Not Here,” scoring Brazil’s first nomination for a best picture Academy Award, Conspiraçao weighs in as a modern classic on the country’s production scene, founded in 1991 and boasting 10 International Emmy nominations. Producer of TV Globo’s “Under Pressure,” HBO’s “Magnífica 70” and Netflix’s “Reality Z,” Conspiraçao is powered by its stable of directors from Andrucha Waddington to Carolina Jabor and Claudio Torres. In film, it ranges from prestige fare such as Cannes Un Certain Regard standout “Me You Them” to local blockbusters such as “Vai Que Cola.”
Coração da Selva, Vinnicius Martins Boaventura
The Emmy award-winning production company for 2012’s “Pedro & Bianca” has partnered with major players such as Warner Brothers Discovery, Globo, Netflix, and Disney. Active in the market since 2003, Coração da Selva is “guided by social responsibility and inclusion” and is behind projects such as Karim Aïnouz’s lauded Berlin competition entry “Futuro Beach,” starring “Civil War’s” Wagner Moura, and “Just Short of Perfect,” which became the most-watched titled film on Netflix in its week of release. The company is currently airing the first Brazilian novela produced independently, “Scars of Beauty,” which has become the most-watched show on Max upon release.
Dezenove Som e Imagens, Sara Silveira
Launched in 1991 by director Carlos Reichenbach and soon producing his “Alma Corsária,” in 2007 Marcelo Gomes’ feature debut “Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures,” Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra’s Cannes Un Certain Regard player “Hard Labor” and a Dezenove highpoint, werewolf fairy tale “Good Manners,” a Locarno Special Jury Prize winner. Dezenove is “driven by work and passion, working on Brazilian cinema internationally with the aim of solidifying our works abroad and with this support we are able to universalize our Brazilian films,” says Silveira, who has Gomes’ latest movie, “Dolores,” in post.
Gullane, Fabiano Gullane
Behind Cannes-selected “Carandiru” and Sundance and Berlin winner “The Second Mother,” Gullane’s 2024 still marked a new highpoint for the producer. Karim Aïnouz’s “Motel Destino” played Cannes competition; “Noah’s Ark,” sold to 70 countries, proved the highest grossing Brazilian animation film in history and “Senna” ran for six weeks in Netflix’s non-English language series Global Top 10. At Berlin with a full slate of upcoming titles featuring new films from Fernando Coimbra, André Ristum and Cao Hamburger, as it essays new strategic moves. “We are at Berlin to expand international co-productions, test sales agent waters on new projects and establish delightful connections with fest heads,” says Fabiano Gullane.
Lighthouse, Ricardo Fadel Rihan
Launched in 2009, Lighthouse specializes in romantic comedies and innovative reality shows, two widely popular genres in Brazil. Their varied slate goes from the political thriller “Real: The Plan Behind History” to “Juju Boot Camp,” an all-female reality show at a military camp. Recently, the company was behind “Zero to Hero,” reaching the top 2 titles on Netflix Brazil and the top 5 in non-English speaking territories. Currently focused on international expansion, Lighthouse arrives in Berlin with the historical epic “Ramon Castillas Path” in co-production with Peru’s Imagia Film and romantic drama “Love Connection,” plus shopping the format for their Fitness Influencer Boot Camp.
RT Features, Berta Marchiori
It’s a mark of RT Features extraordinary co-production reach that it’s backed Luca Guadagnino’s “Call Me By Your Name” and Robert Eggers’ “The Lighthouse” and now Radu Jude’s 2025 Berlin Competition player “Kontinental 25.” RT Features is ever more taking Brazilian talent onto a world stage, first producing Karim Aïnouz’s Cannes 2019 Un Certain Regard winner The Invisible Life” and now Walter Salles’ triple Oscar nominee “I’m Still Here.” Founded in 2006, RT Features films have “bold ideas that push the limits between critical prestige and box office popularity, requiring a know-how of genre combinations, quality filmmaking and appeal to the current zeitgeist,” says RT executive producer Berta Marchiori.
Supernova, Bruna Veras
Bruna Veras launched Supernova in 2016 focusing on production design, scenography, residential architecture, interior design, and education. The company creates “immersive spaces that blend storytelling and functionality,” and has been behind projects such as “Down Quixote,” “A Pedra da Serpente,” and “Pê.” Veras is in Berlin with two short films she worked on as a production designer, “Inside” and “Chica.” Both titles are still in post-production and having their first bow at EFM.
UFO, Gustavo de Carvalho Silva
Based in the São Paulo countryside, UFO was founded in 2016 by Gustavo de Carvalho and Luisa Cação focusing on fiction, including short films, music videos, and feature films. UFO looks for stories “from isolated places and estranged characters” with a “universal” appeal. Their latest short, Carvalho’s “Barbed Wire,” is an adventurous coming-of-age set in the Brazilian countryside and will premiere as part of Generation 14Plus in Berlin. UFO is currently developing a feature version of the short and actively looking for co-producers.
More to come….
