Berlin-based M-Appeal has taken on world sales rights to Brazilian director Marcelo Caetano’s Cannes Critics’ Week title Baby.
The film, scripted by Caetano and Gabriel Domingues, follows an 18-year-old boy who is released from a juvenile detention centre and finds himself adrift on the streets of São Paulo.
The Brazil-France-Netherlands co-production is made through Cup Filmes, Caetano’s Desbun Filmes, Plateau Produções, Still Moving, Circe Films and Kaap Holland Film. The cast is led by João Pedro Mariano, Ricardo Teodoro and Ana Flavia Cavalcanti.
M-Appeal also handled the director’s 2017 debut feature Body Electric. Vitrine Filmes will distribute Caetano’s second film in Brazil.
“Baby is a love letter to São Paulo and the freedom that people can find in this vibrant metropolis,” commented Caetano. “Most of the sets of the film were walking distance from my house. The characters of the film represents the diversity of people that we can find on the streets. I’m passionate to tell their stories.”
Maren Kroymann, CEO of m-appeal, said: “We have followed Baby as a project since its inception. The film explores themes of love, loss and resilience in a deeply human way that will resonate with audiences across cultures. Marcelo’s vision is captivating.”
Caetano has worked as an assistant director for several Brazilian filmmakers, including Gabriel Mascaro on Neon Bull in 2016. He was also casting director on Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Aquarius in 2016 and Bacurau in 2019, directed by Filho and Juliano Dornelles.
His shorts, among them Ball (2009) and Verona (2013), screened widely on the international festival circuit.
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