Young people serving socio-educational measures discover what a film and TV studio is like.

The "Bridges to the Future" project, from the Rio Municipal Secretariat of Social Assistance (SMAS), in partnership with RioFilme – a municipal public company linked to the Rio City Hall that supports, finances, and promotes the film and audiovisual market – took 30 teenagers and young people aged 12 to 18, in situations of social vulnerability, on an experience that blended fantasy and reality. Young men and women served by the CREAS (Specialized Social Assistance Reference Center) Nelson Carneiro, located in Ramos, in the North Zone, joined boys sheltered at the URS (Social Reintegration Unit) Angélica Goulart, in Cachambi, also in the North Zone, for a visit to the Seriella Productions film complex, one of the leading audiovisual production companies in the country, in Vargem Grande, in the West Zone.

The fantasy aspect consisted of discovering a dream factory, comprised of 18 film sets, seven studios, and a vast production archive focused primarily on epic and biblical stories. The reality aspect was seeing firsthand a vibrant professional market, which is usually attractive to young people and can become a career prospect.

The group included students from the audiovisual workshop of the Passo a Passo program, also run by SMAS. This program serves adolescents and young people fulfilling socio-educational measures under supervised release. In the city's 14 CREAS (Specialized Social Assistance Reference Centers), the initiative offers educational, recreational, and cultural training alternatives that help these young people comply with court orders and find options for the future. With Passo a Passo, which currently has around 700 participants, the attendance rate at the CREAS rises to 92%, and the recidivism rate during the socio-educational measure is only 1%.

– We managed to show a little bit of what we do and the dreams we also build here. Audiovisual media helps broaden the vision of young people and place many of them in the job market. We have a lot of faith in these young people, because tomorrow they could be with us, producing series for Brazil and the whole world –, said Alan Braz, project director at Seriela.

'They can be whatever they want'

On the guided tour, the group visited sets and studios where Rede Record productions are filmed. Accompanied by Braz and other professionals, the young people learned about the various roles in the audiovisual sector and the opportunities and challenges the market offers. They saw firsthand that it is possible to dream and turn that dream into reality.

"It's wonderful to be able to bring the kids who are taking the audiovisual workshops and see them so enchanted, so amazed. I often tell them in the workshops that not everyone will be a director, producer, or cinematographer. But that they can be whatever they want. Today we planted a seed in them that they can, indeed, do this: work with film and audiovisual," commented Tiago de Paula, teacher of the audiovisual workshop at Passo a Passo.

According to Leonardo Edde, CEO of RioFilme, "public policy needs to guarantee these young people the right to dream and to see new paths for their lives."

– When a young person enters a studio, gets to know a film set city and discovers the dozens of professions that exist behind a production, we are talking about building – and often rebuilding – self-esteem, belonging and a future perspective. The audiovisual industry is a powerful industry that generates jobs, income and opportunities. The role of the Rio de Janeiro City Hall and RioFilme is to build bridges. The partnership with SMAS is a path already paved so that these young people can transform curiosity into training, training into a profession and dreams into real possibilities – explained Edde.

The visit to Seriela, which took place on August 14th, was part of the "Bridges to the Future" initiative aimed at exploring new skills, discovering vocations, and introducing professions to young people served by SMAS.

"It was simply unforgettable. Our young people learned how the audiovisual industry and its production chain work. All of this in one of the largest complexes in this sector in the country. We are very grateful for this partnership," described Guilherme Nanni, coordinator of Bridges to the Future.

Category:

• Social assistance
• City
• News
• RioFilme

August 18th, 2026

Appointments: Visual Media movies CREA URS (Social Reintegration Unit)