IFFR HBF+Brazil Pilot Films: UFOs, Supernatural Powers, Rap Battles
UFOs and extraterrestrials, a mother with supernatural power, a colonial emperor, and rap battles with a third eye – those are just some of the ingredients of Brazilian film projects getting funding from the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund (HBF). The fund has unveiled the 10 projects selected for the pilot edition of HBF+Brazil: Co-development Support, a new collaboration with organizations for the promotion of cinema in Brazil. The partners are Spcine, RioFilme, Projeto Paradiso and Embratur, the Brazilian Tourism Board, which HBF has newly welcomed to the initiative.
The 10 fiction film projects in development will each receive a grant of €10,000 ($11,880). Each will be directed by a second- or third-time Brazilian filmmaker, with a Brazilian production company attached.
“Reflecting the geographical scope and mission of the HBF+Brazil partners, the 10 grants support filmmakers and producers across Brazil, with four grants each for projects connected to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, including collaborations where producers from São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro work with filmmakers from other cities,” the partners highlighted.
“It’s extremely important for us that this partnership has resulted in the selection of projects with strong potential to reach both domestic and international audiences,” highlighted Josephine Bourgois, executive director of Projeto Paradiso. “The HBF has proved to take a long-lasting interest in Brazilian cinema, but this specific initiative is a reflection of the country’s momentum within the global market at a moment of growing international visibility. From the success of I’m Still Here to the outstanding path currently trailed by The Secret Agent, the involvement of this world-renowned fund reinforces our confidence in the sustainability of this moment.”
Tamara Tatishvili, head of the Hubert Bals Fund, said: “The launch of HBF+Brazil Co-Development Support marked an exciting new chapter for the Hubert Bals Fund, with this initiative offering a truly unique collaboration as multiple sectors come together to create such a joint effort.”
Check out the 10 selected projects and details on them below.
Bicho, director Madiano Marcheti, producer Terceira Margem, rest of Brazil (director and producer)
”Born and raised in Mato Grosso, Brazil’s Amazon region, Madiano Marcheti’s feature debut Madalena premiered in the Tiger Competition at IFFR 2021. With his second and upcoming feature Mother of Gold supported by the HBF and presented at CineMart in 2022, he receives support for his third feature Bicho. The film follows a calf’s escape into the unsparing wilderness of the Brazilian Cerrado, and the war this triggers between an obsessive farmer and his neighbor.”
Brasa, dir. Marcelo Caetano, prod. CUP Filmes, São Paulo (director and producer)
”Following the eclectic urbanism of São Paulo’s gay scene in his 2024 hit Baby (Cannes Semaine de la critique 2024, HBF Development 2017, NFF+HBF 2020), Marcelo Caetano turns his attention to colonial-era Brazil with the period drama Brasa.”
Enquanto não voltam, dir. Anita Rocha da Silveira, prod. Kromaki, Rio de Janeiro (director and producer)
”Anita Rocha da Silveira is a two-time recipient of the Rio Film Festival’s Best Director award for her first two features Kill Me Please (Venice Orizzonti 2015) and Medusa (IFFR 2022). Set in Rio de Janeiro in 1986 around ‘Night of the UFOs’, her third feature Enquanto não voltam follows the extraterrestrial encounters of three young music-lovers who seek to heal wounds and scars left by the military dictatorship.”
Irmã mais velha, dir. Rafaela Camelo, prod. Lupa Filmes, Rio de Janeiro (producer), director from rest of Brazil
”Rafaela Camelo’s debut A natureza das coisas invisíveis had its world premiere at the Berlinale in 2025 in Generation Kplus. Her second, Irmã mais velha, continues a focus on children, as the unstable mother Verônica uses supernatural powers to try to comfort her daughter Isabel following the tragic death of her sister.”
Laguna, dir. Maurílio Martins, prod. Filmes de Plástico, rest of Brazil (director and producer)
”Minas Gerais filmmaker and co-founder of the production company Filmes de Plástico, Maurílio Martins is awarded for his second solo feature Laguna, following Leo, a free man after two years in prison, looking for a new beginning from ghosts of the past. He co-directed the IFFR 2019 Tiger Competition selection No coração do mundo.”
Um longo despir-se, dir. Pedro Geraldo, prod. Alento, São Paulo (producer), director from rest of Brazil
”Pedro Geraldo’s first feature, Sofia Foi won the First Film Prize at FIDMarseille 2023. Also turning to the past, they are supported for their second, Um longo despir-se. The film follows a textile worker in 1930s São Paulo countryside who steals fabric to make a dress for her brother Mateus – and the trans woman Jun’s search for the same dress many years later.”
Múmia tropical, dir. Lucas Parente, prod. Besta Fera Filmes, Rio de Janeiro (producer), director from rest of Brazil
“Lucas Parente’s most recent feature The Many Deaths of Antônio Parreiras – freely inspired by the life of the Brazilian painter of the same name – was selected for the International Competition at FIDMarseille in 2025. Once again, Parente investigates a historical figure with his supported project Múmia tropical, this time the colonial Emperor, Dom Pedro II, tracing an 1876 journey to Egypt and his encounter with ancient deities.”
Olhos de Yara, dir. Lincoln Péricles Pinto, prod. Quarta-feira Filmes, São Paulo (director and producer)
”From the Capão Redondo neighborhood, a housing project in São Paulo, filmmaker, screenwriter and beatmaker Lincoln Péricles (LK) is known for his ‘cine-sample’ style incorporating elements of Hip Hop culture into his work. He is supported for Olhos de Yara where, after a third eye appears on her forehead, 16-year-old hip hop lover Yara must navigate rap battles, friendships and the suffocating noise of institutional politics to claim her own voice.”
Papiloscopista, dir. Carlos Segundo, prod. A Manduri, São Paulo (producer), director from rest of Brazil
”Carlos Segundo’s award-winning films include shorts Big Bang (Pardino d’oro, Locarno 2022) and Sideral (Cannes 2021), and debut feature Leite em pó, supported by HBF Development in 2022. In his second feature Papiloscopista, a mysterious woman leads a double life as a fingerprint analyst by day and an elusive chameleon by night, seamlessly adopting new identities and immersing herself in a web of danger, intrigue and vengeance.”
Sobre noix, dir. Luciano Vidigal, prod. Dualto, Rio de Janeiro (director and producer)
”A member since 1990 of the renowned Brazilian theater and art organization Nós do Morro based in the Vidigal favela of Rio de Janeiro, filmmaker and actor Luciano Vidigal is supported for his second feature Sobre noix, telling the story of Joana and Drica, two Black women from the favela, who set out to adopt a child in hopes of building a family.”
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