RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL — Production company Estudio Escarlate launched at Rio Fest the Sustainable Audiovisual Manual, a digital book available on the web with detailed guidelines for reducing the environmental impact of audiovisual productions, from pre-production to distribution.
The manual, sponsored by the Brazilian Tourism Board (Embratur), is an Escalate initiative in partnership with Pachamama, a local company specializing in investing in green assets, and Sustentech, which is responsible for the technical aspects of the book.
The Sustainable Audiovisual Manual addresses issues such as biodiversity, energy, greenhouse gas emissions, water, waste, society and governance. Each theme provides a conceptual introduction, practical strategies, monitoring indicators, and recommended goals.
“By aligning our industry with international standards and paving the way for the first national sustainability certification in the audiovisual sector, we affirm Brazil’s pioneering role in uniting culture, responsibility and innovation in pursuit of a more just and sustainable future,” Escalate CEO Joana Henning told Variety.
The sustainability audiovisual manual is part of the Chico Vive (Chico Lives) project, which includes the production of a documentary and biopic about Chico Mendes, an international symbol of the struggle to protect the Amazon rainforest and a prominent Brazilian environmental leader who was murdered in 1988.
Directed by Sergio Machado, Sergio Carvalho will co-direct both the documentary and biopic, making them the first two Brazilian films to adopt the manual’s sustainability parameters.
“Just as Mr. Mandela was a symbol of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, I believe that Chico Mendez deserves to be the face of protecting the Amazon rainforest,” Machado told Variety.
Marcelo Frecho, CEO of Embratour, emphasized the synergy between tourism and audiovisuals, as a significant portion of tourists choose destinations depicted in movies and TV series. He also emphasized the compromise between Embratour and the environment.
“Sustainability is one of our organization’s guiding principles. Embratour is a zero-waste company and we offset the carbon emissions from every journalist’s trip we take to Brazil,” Freixo told Variety. “And it is also our duty to participate in Chico Mendes’ projects.”
Marcelo Frecho
Credit: Christian Rodriguez
COP30 Special: Possible futures
Brazil will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP30 from November 10th to 21st in Belém, a city in the north of the Amazon estuary. To commemorate this important conference, Riofest will be hosting a “COP30 Special: Possible Futures” section.
More than 70 films, including world premieres and retrospectives, will be screened during the festival, covering themes such as climate justice, environmental protection and sustainable development. Several screenings at venues across Rio will feature guest appearances and discussions with the audience.
“COP30 Special: Possible Futures reaffirms Riofest’s commitment to the dialogue between culture and the imperatives of our time and strengthens the role of audiovisual media Rstudi and its capacity for social and environmental transformation,” said Ilda Santiago, Executive Director of Programming and International Projects at Riofest.
The festival’s films and panels address issues such as the direct impacts of climate change on the lives, cultures and economies of regions such as the Brazilian Amazon, indigenous identities, urban-rural conflict, racial justice, environmental racism and migration.
In addition, roundtables and debates will be held between experts and activists from various fields in Brazil and abroad to discuss important environmental issues of our time.
Estevan Ciavatta, CEO of local production company Pindrama Film, spoke at a roundtable with photographer and director Pirata Waula, activist Tsai Sului, and film director Maya Darling, moderated by Veronica Pinheiro.
Ciavatta said Pindrama has been offsetting its entire carbon footprint since 2007, replenishing 100% of its emissions through reforestation in river basins in partnership with the SOS Mata Atlantica Foundation. Over the past 25 years, they have planted more than 35,000 trees.
