EXCLUSIVE: Rodrigo Teixeira of Brazilian producer-financier RT Features, who has five films screening at the 28th Festival do Rio (October 1-11), has shared details of a new Brazilian police drama with Minotaur producer Marco Perego.
Teixeira and Perego are preparing writer-director Erico Rassi’s 1992-set Die Like A Man, which is shooting in Brazil’s Goiás savanna region and explores masculinity in the vein of Unforgiven. “It’s one of the best films I’m making in my career,” said Teixeira, whose credits include Walter Salles’ Oscar winner I’m Still Here, Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name, and Robert Eggers’ The Witch.
Busy RT Features is lead-financing and produces alongside Perego, who will finance a portion. “I cried when I read it,” said São Paulo-based Teixeira. “Erico is part of the new generation coming up and has the potential to be one of the biggest Brazilian directors.” The RT Features founder also promised that while the film’s lead Irandhir Santos was little-known outside Brazil, that will not last long. “The film community knows Brazilian actors like Fernanda Torres and Wagner Moura. I’m going to introduce you to this guy.”
RT Features shot six films in 2025 that have been playing the festival circuit and Teixeira brings five of them to Rio. Screening in the Première Brasil section (Midnight Movies) on October 5 is the Rotterdam selection and Fantasia AQCC Award winner Bowels Of Hell from Gurcius Gewdner and Gustavo Vinagre, while Gabe Klinger’s Berlinale comedy Isabel (competition) plays on October 7.
Domingo Sotomayor’s Chilean island-set drama La Perra premiered in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and screens in the Latin Premiere programme (October 6), as does Benjamín Naishtat’s mystery drama Glaxo (October 9), which premiered in Toronto last month. Teixeira hopes the feature will become Argentina’s official Oscar submission next season.
Rami Kodeih’s Beirut bank heist thriller Furies debuted in Venice Spotlight and screens in Expectations on October 8. “We had to stop production because of the war [between Lebanon and Israel],” said Teixeira. All except Furies will screen at Sao Paulo Film Festival (October 15-29).
Championing Latin American cinema
Backed by private investors, RT Features finances or co-finances all its films. Teixeira is proud of the work that is coming out of South America and wants to champion it wherever possible. “The profile of Latin American cinema needs to grow,” he said. “We are one of the underprivileged parts of the world who are not being seen as best as we could, because we have great filmmakers, great films.
“Brazil had two films nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards in the last three years,” Teixeira said. “We have great projects coming from this space and not only in Brazil but Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico.”
Teixeira has collaborated with James Gray for many years and is lining up the next feature from the US auteur, whose Cannes competition selection and 1980s New York-set drama Paper Tiger just opened New York Film Festival and next heads to BFI London Film Festival.
“He promised to deliver the script at the end of the year with a name,” Teixeira said of the new project that Gray starting writing last spring. “We’re aiming to shoot in 2027. It’s a period piece and it’s brilliant.”
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