RioFilme prepares intense program for the Cannes Film Festival

The Côte d'Azur will be greener and yellower. This year, Brazil will be the country honored at the 66th edition of the Marché du Film, a market event that is part of the Cannes International Film Festival, which will be held from May 13 to 21 on the French Riviera. The event commemorates two centuries of Franco-Brazilian diplomatic relations. In keeping with the strategy of internationalizing Rio's audiovisual sector, the city is celebrating this extraordinary moment in Brazilian cinema with a series of events at the Marché du Film. RioFilme will be represented at the Marché by its CEO, Leonardo Edde, and the coordinator of the Rio Film Commission, Daniel Celli, who will be present in Cannes throughout the event.

Rio will have a stand at the Marché dedicated to Rio's audiovisual sector, with the aim of being a strategic space dedicated to meetings, exchanges and networking between Rio producers and international players. The address of RioFilme at the Marché du Film is Palais -1 / 23.02.

Rio's strategic actions in Cannes

With a very busy agenda, RioFilme has scheduled a series of strategic actions, including panels, meetings with international entities, signing of agreements and partnerships, and networking events between Rio de Janeiro producers and international market agents.

In addition to generating business between Rio de Janeiro production companies and participants at the Marché, one of the main objectives of RioFilme's presence in Cannes is to attract international productions to film in the city. This is why one of the company's focuses at the event is to promote the Cash Rebate offered by the city, which allows foreign production companies to receive a return of up to 35% on the amount invested in filming in the city.

One of the most anticipated productions in the sector at the moment has received funding from the Rio de Janeiro City Hall's 2024 Cash Rebate notice. “Corrida dos Bichos”, a feature film by Fernando Meirelles, Ernesto Solis and Rodrigo Pesavento, is currently being finalized. The film, co-produced by Prime Vídeo, is a dystopia set in Rio de Janeiro and has the animal game as its theme.

International meetings and partnerships

Among RioFilme's strategic actions, a cooperation agreement is also planned between the Rio Film Commission and the Location Managers Guild (LMGI), an association that represents international location producers, strategic professionals who are responsible for attracting foreign productions to the city. LMGI is a reference in the segment, and the expectation is that with this agreement Rio will stand out on the map of foreign location producers. The document is expected to be signed on May 18, at 16 pm, at the Marché du Film.

RioFilme has confirmed meetings with some of the most important Film Commissions in the world, such as the British Film Commission and Film London, to exchange experiences and come together to carry out joint initiatives.

The Rio Film Commission is a member of the AFCI – Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI), which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in Cannes. The organization represents entities from all over the world and will hold a prominent panel in the Marché du Film – Driving Production for 50 years program. The proposal is to talk about the importance of the work and legacy of the entity, in addition to discussing the strategic role of Film Commissions for the audiovisual industry. Daniel Celli, coordinator of the Rio Film Commission, will present the work carried out in Rio de Janeiro, which made the city one of the most filmed in the world, together with other city government agencies and departments, in addition to the importance of the work in partnership with the AFCI.

The positive results can be measured in numbers: Rio has established itself as one of the most filmed cities in the world, surpassing important film destinations such as Paris and Mexico City. In 2024, Rio surpassed Paris's numbers by almost 40%, authorizing 8.782 filming days, for 505 productions. The AFCI commemorative panel will take place on May 17th, at 14:40 pm (local time).

Closing the planned agenda of rapprochement with territories, Rio de Janeiro and the Région Sud (southern region of France, where Cannes and Nice are located) will meet on May 14. On the same day, a meeting is scheduled with the Dutch audiovisual sector, to discuss partnerships with, for example, one of the largest audiovisual financing funds in the world – Hubert Bals, managed by the Rotterdam Film Festival.

Expanding its promotion of Rio's audiovisual industry in Cannes, on the 17th, RioFilme will offer a networking lunch at one of the Festival's most charming and sought-after locations – the beautiful Plage des Palms, the Festival's official restaurant. The goal of the gathering is to promote interaction between the delegation of Rio companies attending the Festival and international players. The RioFilme lunch is in partnership with the Rio Festival and Globo.

Rio World Book Capital – Shoot the Book

In the year in which Rio stands out as the World Book Capital, RioFilme will present, in partnership with the Institut Français, the panel: International Adaptation Markets: A focus on Brazil. As the name suggests, the proposal is to talk about the successful relationship between cinema and literature, through film adaptations. Leonardo Edde, CEO of the company, will lead the debate with guest Rodrigo Teixeira, producer of the award-winning film “I'm Still Here”. The conversation will also feature journalist Marie-Charlotte Baoudour and producer Nicolas Picatto.

Brazilian cinema has a long and successful relationship with literature. The first film based on a book made in Brazil was “A Viuvinha” (The Little Widow), from 1914, a Rio adaptation by Lulu de Barros of the novel by José de Alencar. Then came Cinema Novo, with several masterpieces inspired by authors such as Dias Gomes (“The Promise Payer”), Graciliano Ramos (“Vidas Secas”), Carlos Drummond de Andrade (“The Priest and the Girl”) and Mário de Andrade (“Macunaíma”), among others. And recently, some of the greatest successes in Brazilian cinema have had literature as the basis for their scripts, such as “City of God”, “Tropa de Elite” and “Ainda Estou Aqui”, revealing the artistic and commercial potential of this partnership. The panel will be held on May 15, starting at 11 am, at the Pavillon des Cinémas du Monde – Institut français n°107, Marché du film, Village international.

Record presence of Rio de Janeiro companies at the Cannes Film Festival

In the first quarter of 2025, Rio accounted for 80% of the market share of Brazilian cinema. The good results from the beginning of 2025 are encouraging for the sector. This year, the Rio de Janeiro audiovisual industry will be present at Cannes with around 40 companies, including producers, directors, distributors, exhibitors and other professionals from different segments of the sector. In addition to the events and infrastructure made available during the event, RioFilme supported the presence of Rio de Janeiro productions in Cannes through the Call for Proposals to Support the Participation of Rio de Janeiro Companies in the Marché du Film of the Cannes Festival, in partnership with Cinema do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro talents are registered in several areas of the Marché, such as Cannes Docs, Cannes Markers and the Producer Network, among others.

The Marché du Film is one of the most important audiovisual markets in the world and takes place in parallel with the Cannes Film Festival, bringing together thousands of professionals from the global film industry. This year, 14 professionals from 140 countries are expected to present around 4000 projects to some of the most important companies in the audiovisual market. The Marché stands out among events of its kind as a strategic environment for negotiations, development of co-productions and expansion of the international presence of audiovisual companies. Participating in the event provides unique networking opportunities with distributors, sales agents, financiers and industry players.

This year, Brazil is competing for the Palme d'Or with the film “The Secret Agent,” by Kleber Mendonça Filho, which will be shown on the 18th at 19:30 p.m. In addition, Rio de Janeiro productions are represented in the Un Certain Regard section (the second most important at Cannes) with “The Laughter and the Knife,” an international co-production directed by Portuguese director Pedro Pinho, who has more than 30 Brazilian professionals on his team. The screening is scheduled for the 17th at 15 p.m. To top it all off, Rio de Janeiro is also shining during Critics' Week with the short film “Samba Infinito,” by Leonardo Martinelli, a co-production between RioFilme and Baraúna Filmes. Also within the event's official program, Rio de Janeiro cinema will be represented in a tribute to filmmaker Cacá Diegues, within the Classics section. The program will feature the unreleased feature film produced by Coqueirão: “Para Vigo me voi”, by Lírio Ferreira and Karen Harley, which will be shown on the 19th, at 16:15 pm.

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• RioFilme

12 May 2025

Appointments: movies Cannes Film Festival movies Tribute Marche du Film RioFilme