Eduardo Costantini's Buenos-Aires-based Costa Films is making a concerted push into Brazil, mounting a $9m music drama to be directed by Brad Anderson and co-produced by Spain's Filmax and Rio-based Bananeira Filmes, as well as partnering with the Barreto family to make a biopic of current Brazilian president Lula Da Silva currently shooting under director Fabio Barreto (O Quatrilho).

Anderson, who has made Trans-Siberian and The Machinist for Filmax, will direct the $9m project Non-Stop To Brazil about an American jazz saxophonist who finds a long lost Bossa Nova record at a New York flea market which will lead him on a journey to Rio. Costantini said that Moreno Veloso and Bebel Gilberto are committed to consult on the soundtrack. 'We are putting in place the financing to shoot in Rio in the third quarter of this year,' he said, adding that the film will be mainly in English but Portugese where appropriate.

Lula, which started shooting in Sao Paolo two weeks ago, stars Rui Ricardo Diaz as the adult Da Silva. The film covers his life from his traumatic childhood, his struggling life as a worker, his strong relationship woith his mother and his founding of Brazil's Workers' Party.

Costa, which is a founding partner in web distribution platform The Auteurs and has a joint venture with The Weinstein Company in The Latin American Film Company, is also close to buying a stake in a Brazilian production company.

Meanwhile Costa has just completed production on an Argentinian film called Castro directed by Alejo Moguillansky and produced by Costantini with Mariano Llina. Costantini says he is confident of festival play for the small drama about a young man who has leaves his life behind.