Gramado awarded Serton Melo, Maria Fernanda Candido, bow “Antaltida”

As Brazil’s explosive popularity on the Oscar and A-Fest scenes turns top actors into international stars, two of the country’s biggest breakouts, I’m Not Here co-star Selton Melo and The Secret Agent star Maria Fernanda Candido, will be honored at Brazil’s Gramado Film Festival, bringing an aura of burgeoning international fame to one of the country’s oldest and biggest film events.

Brazil’s 54th Gramado Film Festival, held in a mountain resort famous for its Alpine architecture, snow, chocolate shops and fondue restaurants, opens with “Antártida” (“Antarctica”), set at an Antarctic base, a fitting world premiere that once again contrasts with the country’s tropical image.

Produced by Brazilian media giant Globo, “Antartida” is directed by Bruno Safadi, director of the hit TV series “Ar Anas.” The book is written by Claudia Jovin, one of Brazil’s hottest up-and-coming screenwriters after serving as lead writer for Globoplay 2025’s blockbuster Perfect Days.

Six Brazilian films will compete for the main Kikito award at Gramado, five of which are world premieres, including “Chorão: Só os Loucos Sabem,” “Justino – Nos Bastidores do Reino,” “Leite em Pó,” “Nosso Segredo,” and “Pele de Rinoceronte.” His sixth film, “The World of Goo Goo” (“Fate Pipa”), won the Best Picture award at this year’s Generation K Plus in Berlin.

Gramado, which will run from August 12th to 22nd, will close with Chilean director Dominga Sotomayor’s “La Pera,” which received positive reviews at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and was co-produced with Brazilian top company RT Features.

Gramado’s documentary “Kikito” features four features in contention. “Afrontosa” by Colaci Ruiz and Julio Matos. “Empeleitada” by Michaele Sukur, Chico Rudermir, and Sergio Borges. “Gonzaginha, Da Maior Liberdade” directed by Susanna Lira. “O Projeto” is directed by Sabrina Fidalgo and Ivan Rodić.

Gramado will also present the long-awaited Brazilian premiere of “Emergencia 53” Episode 1, a collusion work for Globo Play by the two who were the driving force behind Globo’s mini-hit “Under Pressure.” Andrucha Waddington and Claudio Torres. Amid all the artistic alarm on television, boldness stood out at this year’s Berlinale Series Market, where Mobile Emergency Medical Unit Procedural won the event’s inaugural Studio Babelsberg Production Excellence Award, which recognizes outstanding creative projects that combine artistic ambition and international potential.

Actresses Ana Flavia Cavalcanti and Camila Morgado and film critic Marcos Santuario were the curators of this year’s fest selections.

Melo, who was a child actor in Globo’s TV novels and later starred in several Brazilian films, made a splash in Brazil’s art world by playing the father Rubens Paiva in I’m Still Here, the first Portuguese-language Brazilian film to win an Academy Award, and by directing The Clown and Movie of My Life.

Candido is known internationally for her roles in Marco Bellocchio’s “The Traitor,” “Fantastic Beasts and Dumbledore’s Secret” and “The Secret Agent,” which earned her four Oscar nominations, the most in Brazil’s history.

President of the Brazilian Film Academy and producer Renata Almeida Magalhães (Favela Gay) receives the Eduardo Avelin Trophy. Andrea Beltrán, nominated for international nomination for Emmy Award for her performance in “Hebe,” will win Oscarito Trophy. Actor, writer and director Marcos Caruso (“Brazil Avenue”) will be awarded the Gramado City Trophy.

The Gramado Film Festival is organized by Gramado Tour, the tourism and cultural authority of Gramado City Hall. This mountain resort city of 40,000 people is located in Brazil’s southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul. It has a distinctly Bavarian feel, reflecting the influx of German settlers in the 19th century.

Rosa Helena Volk, President of Gramadotour, highlighted the fact that all feature films in this year’s competition will have audio commentary, Brazilian Sign Language interpretation and subtitles.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the festival’s major films.

opening film

“Antártida” stars Andrea Beltrán, Marina Rui Barbosa, Leandra Real, Antonio Caroni, Lázaro Ramos and João Vitor Silva. The photo was lensed in Globo’s modern studio in Rio using technology that simulates sequences in Antarctica. It attacks Ines, who is assaulted along with scientists and military personnel at an Antarctic base in Brazil, all of whom are made suspects. Deputy Commander Elizabeth leads the investigation to find the culprit. Paris Film will release “Antartida” in local theaters on September 17th.

“I come from a filmmaker background, and I had the opportunity to make a large-scale production with all the resources and time I needed,” Safadi said at the festival’s lineup announcement ceremony.

“This project took nine years to come to fruition. What was missing was technology. I can’t wait to feel the warmth of the audience,” Juvan said.

Main competition works:

“Coran: So Os Loucos Sabem” (Hugo Plata and Felipe Novaes) is a film about the life of Coran, frontman of the local pop group Charlie Brown Jr., starring José Loreto and Nanda Marquez, produced by Bravura Cinematographica in collaboration with Globo Film.

“Justino – Nos Bastidores do Reino” (Jose Eduardo Belmonte). The film is set in Rio de Janeiro in the 1980s and was produced by Mercado Film. Military veteran Belmonte is directing the film, which stars Cristian Malheiros, Antonio Pitanga and Caio Bratto. In the story, the protagonist finds an opportunity to escape poverty in a powerful neo-Pentecostal church.

“Leite em Pó” (Carlos Segundo). Produced by O Sopro do Tempo, Vitrine Filmes and Les Valseurs, it tells the story of a rock-obsessed musician whose life falls apart after losing his family. The cast includes Vinicius de Oliveira, Antonio Pitanga, Zegeta Matos, and Regian Faria.

“Nosso Segredo” (Grace Passo). Produced by Entre Filmes and co-produced by Globo Filmes, the film tells the story of a family trying to rebuild their lives after a recent loss. The film stars Robert Frank, Ephraim Santos, Jessica Gaspard, Fripp, and Ju Colombo.

“Pere de Rinoceronte” (Marcello Ludwig Maia). Set in the 1970s, Deborah Falabella stars as a reporter at a popular newspaper whose life changes when a murder shocks Brazil. The drama also stars Naruna Costa and Irandil Santos. República Pureza produced this picture in collaboration with Canal Brasil and Telecine. “‘Pere de Rinoceronte’ is a very personal story that deals with what I see as a big problem in Brazil: violence against women,” Maia said.

“The World of Goo Goo” (“Fate Pipa”, Alan Debarton) is about a young boy who dreams of becoming a great soccer player. Raised by his grandmother, he fears having to return to his father. Starring Lázaro Ramos, Yuri Gomez and Teca Pereira, the film is produced by Debarton Films and Bionica Films (Charcoal, Thor).