A packed roster of more than 270 features at the 28th Festival do Rio (October 1-11) will present 16 national Oscar submissions, the latest in Brazilian cinema, and a South Korea focus at the RioMarket.
Allan Deberton’s official Brazilian Academy Award submission Gugu’s World plays out of competition in Première Brasil and debuted in Berlin, where it won the Generation Kplus Crystal Bear and grand jury prize. Yuri Gomes stars as a football-loving youngster who avoids living with his father and is raised with unconditional love by his ailing grandmother.
Other official Oscar submissions include Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s Spanish queer epic La Bola Negra which tied for the best director prize in Cannes; Belgium’s first World War queer drama Coward from Lukas Dhont starring Cannes best actor winners Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, and Markus Schleinzer’s 17th-century mystery Rose for Austria led by Berlin Silver Bear winner Sandra Hüller.
In recent years the festival has screened dozens of features that went on to win an Oscar or earn a nomination, such as best international feature film winners I’m Still Here from native son Walter Salles and Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round, and last season’s multiple nominee The Secret Agent from another Brazilian maestro, Kleber Mendonça Filho.
The Première Brasil showcase brings more than 100 selections competing for the Redentor Trophy. Among the feature competition world premieres are the genre film Days Of Fire (Diário do Fogo) from Maju de Paiva and Bernardo Florim; and the closing night gala of solo transatlantic crossing drama 100 Days (100 Dias) from Carlos Saldanha.
The documentary competition includes Fabio Meira’s The Extraordinary Life Of Vera Valdez (A Extraordinária Vida De Vera Valdez), about the life of the Brazilian Dior and Chanel model and actress who died in January; and Lucia Murat’s The Hinterlands Of Our Memories (O Sertão das Nossas Memórias) exploring the country’s collective trauma under the Brazilian dictatorship that spanned 1964-85.
Diego Luna’s migrant drama and Cannes Special Screenings selection Ashes plays in Latin Première, as does Nina Wara Carrasco Gómez’s Bolivian gender-based violence documentary I Absolutely Refuse. World Panorama brings Beth de Araújo’s Sundance and Berlin drama Josephine, Gregg Araki’s Sundance dark comedy I Want Your Sex starring Olivia Wilde, and Kirk Jones’s Bafta winner I Swear.
The Brazilian Co-Productions programme brings two from RT Features: Benjamín Naishtat’s mystery Glaxo (Bra-Arg) fresh from its Toronto premiere, and Rami Kodeih’s heist thriller Furies (Bra-Leb) that premiered in Venice and recently screened in Toronto. The selection includes Abinash Bikram Shah’s Cannes Un Certain Regard entry Elephants In The Fog (Elefantes Na Névoa).
Freemantle’s documentary Father Father (UK) from Jake Witzenfeld, about a Muslim-Jewish gay couple who dream of starting a family, plays in Expectations, as do Li Dongmei’s Chinese relationship drama Guo Ran, and Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo’s post-genocide Rwandan Cannes Un Certain Regard drama Ben’Imana.
The RioMarket running October 1-10 will feature panel discussions exploring what works on TikTok, how women leaders are succeeding in the industry, AI in filmmaking, Brazilian co-production treaties, and the power of editing. Masterclasses are expected to be announced shortly.
South Korea is the focus territory of the market’s second day when attendees can listen to executive talks on the building the country’s audiovisual industry, strategic benefits of a co-production treaty with Brazil, and a screening of Son Dong-wan’s horror mystery and 2025 Busan selection The Ghost Game.
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