Bolstering the Brazilian presence in Cannes this year, São Paulo public audiovisual company Spcine is developing strategic partnerships and promoting the city as a competitive film and TV hub on the global stage while backing six domestic films in various sections and programs at the festival.
Spcine’s participation in Cannes is part of the internationalization strategy of São Paulo’s audiovisual industry. Led by Spcine, those efforts include institutional support, encouraging international circulation of works and strengthening São Paulo’s production chain. By 2026, the company plans to invest approximately R$60 million ($11.8 million) in the audiovisual sector, encompassing development, production and distribution.
On Monday, Spcine joins fellow Brazilian partners Projeto Paradiso, RioFilme and Embratur in a Marché du Film panel dedicated to the continuation of the Hubert Bals Fund + Brasil (HBF+Brasil) Development Support Initiative.
It follows a bustling week for Spcine on the Croisette that has included special presentations, events, screenings, panels and soirées. Among the highlights was a panel in partnership with the government of the state of São Paulo focusing on local audiovisual production.
“Spcine arrives in Cannes with a clear mission: to promote São Paulo’s audiovisual industry on the international stage and generate concrete opportunities for companies and talents from São Paulo,” said Spcine President Anna Paula Montini. “Our work seeks to strengthen the city as a global and competitive hub for the co-production, development, and distribution of audiovisual works.”
This year, Spcine is directly supporting the participation of 12 São Paulo-based companies at the Cannes market, in addition to enabling the presence of 10 professionals selected by the ICAB Next Frame program, an initiative aimed at expanding the international reach of audiovisual talent. The participants are holding strategic meetings at the Marché du Film.
Spcine also sponsors Cinema do Brasil, which has an intense schedule of institutional and market meetings with producers, distributors, sales agents and representatives of international funds. Among its planned activities are meetings with representatives from India, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, Uruguay and Colombia.
Spcine likewise supports the continuation of co-development and works-in-progress initiatives in partnership with international organizations, such as the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa. These programs arrive in Cannes with selected and supported projects, and the goal now is to expand their reach.
The organization is currently backing six Brazilian films and projects selected for various sections and programs in Cannes, including Abinash Bikram Shah’s debut feature, “Elephants in the Fog,” co-produced by the São Paulo-based production company Enquadramento Produções, which unspools in Un Certain Regard.
Nina Kopko’s project “The Last Dog on Earth,” a dystopian feature set in São Paulo and produced by Boulevard Filmes, is part of this year’s Fabrique Cinéma support program. The production company received investment from Spcine through the Creative Hubs grant in 2023.
Featured in the Goes to Cannes works-in-progress showcase are Fábio Mendonça’s “The Character,” produced by AMAIA Produções, and Jeferson De’s “Carolina Maria de Jesus,” a co-production between Brazil and France with the participation of famed São Paulo-based production company Dezenove Som e Imagens (“Good Manners”).
Lucas Acher’s short film “Laser-Gato,” shot in São Paulo by São Paulo-based production companies, is part of the La Cinef showcase, while Rosa Caldeira and Nay Mendl’s short project “Ladainha” (“The Sea Remains”) features in the Focus Script mentoring program.
On Monday the focus will be on the continuation of the HBF+Brasil initiative following a successful pilot edition. Established last year by four of Brazil’s main industry support organizations and the Rotterdam Film Festival’s Hubert Bals Fund, HBF+Brasil awarded 10 Brazilian feature film projects with grants of €10,000 ($11,627) each, reflecting the diversity of contemporary Brazilian audiovisual production.
The Monday afternoon event will discuss the results of the first HBF+Brasil program and the launch of the second edition, which has selected 11 new projects. They include four projects linked to São Paulo supported by Spcine, four projects linked to Rio de Janeiro supported by RioFilme, one from other regions of the country supported by Projeto Paradiso, and two works from outside Rio and São Paulo supported by Embratur.
The first HBF+Brasil panel features Montini; Leonardo Edde, president of RioFilme; Christiano Braga, head of Audiovisual at Embratur, and Josephine Bourgois, executive director of Projeto Paradiso. The follow-up discussion includes Tamara Tatishvili, director of the Hubert Bals Fund; Frank Hoeve of Amsterdam-based Baldr Film; Ivan Melo of CUP Filmes in São Paulo and Tatiana Leite of Rio de Janeiro’s Bubbles Project.
Scheduled earlier on Monday is Matinée Brazil, presented by RioFilme, SPCine, Embratur, Festival do Rio, Globo and the Brazilian Ministry of Culture’s Secretariat of Audiovisual. The event comprises a series of talks and presentations on Brazil’s audiovisual industry and support organizations.
Also taking place is Brazil–Japan: Building New Bridges in International Co-Production, a presentation organized by ABRASIA and Cinema do Brasil celebrating 130 years of Brazilian-Japanese co-production and cultural cooperation. The panel brings together producers and institutions to showcase ongoing collaborations and explore new pathways for joint audiovisual development, co-production, and storytelling across both territories.
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