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It’s been a busy few weeks for RioFilme. The company, one of the largest city-backed audiovisual funds in Latin America, just had its first-ever stand at the Cannes’ Marché du Film as part of Brazil Country of Honor and is gearing to open a dedicated stand for the first time at Rio’s buzzy Rio2C, Latin America’s largest creativity event taking place from May 27 to June 1.

The Rio2C stand is held in partnership with Quanta, the São Paulo-based studio and post-production group that won the bid for the 30-year concession to Rio’s massive Polo Rio Cine Video, a complex of seven studios built by City Hall by 1988. Quanta has invested $15 million in renovating the complex and creating extra stages and plans to have a total of 15 fully operational studios in Polo Rio by March 2026.

The stand will showcase some of the industry’s leading tech resources.

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil — Rio2C, Latin America’s largest creativity event, will gather from May 27 to June 1 in its sixth in-person edition, boasting a record attendance of about 52,000 participants and 483 executives from 39 countries.

The continuous growth of the event, which this year has “The Edge of Perfection” as its central theme, is a reflection of the strength of the film and TV and creative industry in Rio, believes Rafael Lazarini, Rio2C founder.

The city is the headquarters of South America’s largest broadcaster and telenovela producer, Grupo Globo, and traditionally the country’s main center of indie film production – the birthplace of the 1960s and 1970s Cinema Novo movement of auteurs such as Glauber Rocha, Nelson Pereira dos Santos and Caca Diegues.

Tradition, the concentration of talents and the city’s attractions, combined with government policies, paved the way for the building of a strong production sector in Rio.

Globoplay, the freemium streaming service of Brazilian media giant Globo, is stepping into the genre market with “Reincarnate.” The streamer’s first original horror series will have its first public bow as part of this year’s Berlinale Series Market Selects, with an official release date yet to be announced.

“Reincarnate” has a nine-episode run and begins with Tulio, a former cop, released from prison after spending 18 years locked up for killing his partner, Caio. On his first day of freedom, Tulio plans on ending his life, but a teenager knocks on his door, claiming to be Caio reincarnated. Together, the two embark on a journey to solve Caio’s murder, find the real killer, and restore Tulio’s honor. The series takes place in the Brazilian countryside and features stars such as Taís Araujo, Julia Dalavia (“Pantanal”) and Grace Passô (“The Day I Met You”).

Bruno Safadi signs the series’s artistic direction,...

There is a tremendous demand for Brazilian features at domestic cinemas right now due to a combination of recently established federal government quotas for local pics and the low supply of U.S. blockbusters resulting from last year’s Hollywood strikes, said participants of this year’s Expocine, Latin America’s largest theatrical distribution-based industry event held in Sao Paulo.

A presidential decree set the quotas for 2024. Exhibitors with more than 200 screens must reserve 16% of their screenings for Brazilian pics. The percentage is lower for smaller exhibitors, dropping to 7.5% for exhibitors with just one screen.

The decree also establishes a 50% limit of occupation for a single pic – usually a U.S. blockbuster – in an exhibitor’s circuit. If an exhibitor chooses to screen a blockbuster in more than half of their screening sessions, it must compensate within the year with screenings of local pics above the quota.

Marcelo Lima, CEO of Tonks,...

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.

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.