The Brazilian tourism board Embratur and the major philanthropic project Project Paradiso have announced the three films selected for the first Screen Brazil initiative, which aims to promote Brazilian cinema internationally. Selected films include Silver Bear winner Gabriel Mascaro’s The Blue Trail, Rafaela Camero’s coming-of-age film The Nature of Invisible Things, and Priscilla Keren’s animated feature Papaya. Embratour and Projeto Paradiso also confirmed that the Screen Brasil initiative will be revived with a second batch, expanding the pool to four feature films in the next batch.
Screen Brazil was launched late last year during the Rio Film Festival and was conceived as a program to support the distribution of feature-length fiction films made in Brazil, with the aim of expanding the global presence of Brazilian productions, strengthening Brazil’s image abroad and generating international interest through the Brazilian film industry.
The first selection will be presented at Matinee Brasil, an event within the official program of Marche du Film, organized by Festival do Rio, Globo, Riofilm, Spucin, Embratour and the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, which will introduce new internationalization policies, cash rebate opportunities and original Brazilian content.
In addition to expanding the screening list to four films, the second edition of Screen Brazil will be divided into two application rounds, the first in the second half of 2026 and the second in the first half of 2027. This decision is aimed at addressing the various stages of negotiations with distributors at festivals throughout the year. The required publication period has also been extended. The film will be ready for distribution within 12 months, rather than the six months required in the first edition. This move will give distributors more flexibility in setting release dates.
blue trail
Blue Trail, presented by Pacifica Gray
Screen Brasil reaffirms the role of embraturs in promoting the country internationally and expanding the international reach of Brazilian productions. Each selected film will receive $15,000 for international distribution efforts, including subtitles, marketing, press relations, and other strategies to promote the film internationally.
Roberto Gebaldo, Director of Management and Innovation at Embratour, praised the goals of the initiative, saying: “Facilitating the international distribution of Brazilian audiovisual productions means promoting Brazil to the world. Each film that captivates international audiences contains our culture and stories.”
“Our films are powerful expressions of our soft power, capable of arousing interest, creating emotional connections and encouraging people from different countries to get to know Brazil up close,” Gebert added. “At the same time, this strategy will strengthen the creative economy, expand the country’s international visibility and promote a more sustainable development model for Brazil’s tourism and audiovisual ecosystem.”
Josephine Bourgois, executive director of Projeto Paradiso, added that the selection “represents an important step towards expanding the presence of Brazilian cinema on the international circuit and strengthening the distribution of Brazilian films in different regions.”
“These films have great artistic potential and universal appeal, allowing us to reach new audiences and strategic markets around the world,” Bourgois continued. “Supporting their international careers is also a way to strengthen the recognition that Brazilian audiovisual production is a relevant creative force on the world stage.”
The films selected for Screen Brasil are:
“Papaya” was directed by Priscilla Keren and was distributed internationally by Belgian company Best Friend Forever to Portugal, Germany and Mexico.
“The Blue Trail” was directed by Gabriel Mascaro and distributed internationally by France’s Lucky Number Company to Australia and Taiwan.
The Nature of Invisible Things, directed by Raffaella Camello, is being distributed internationally by Italian company The Open Reel to German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein).
