Applications for the first funding cycle of the second edition of Screen Brasil close Oct. 2 Distribution, by common consent, has become the weakest link in the whole of the film industry. If it weren’t for public-sector aid, it would hardly exist. Split right deals, replacing minimum guarantees, has eased the financial stress on distributors.
Every single dollar still counts, however. In such a context, Screen Brasil, which closes its applications for the first of two cycles of its second funding edition on Oct. 2, offers manna from heaven. Many sales agents and distributors in Europe dream of being beneficiaries from such schemes.
In its first edition, France’s Lucky Number received $15,000 to support the sales of Gabriel Mascaro’s “The Blue Trail” to Australia and Taiwan. Further recipients, announced at Cannes Marché du Film this May, were Rafaela Camelo’s “The Nature of Invisible Things,” with international sales by Italy’s The Open Reel to German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein; and Priscilla Kellen’s animated work “Papaya,” with international sales by Belgium’s Best Friend Forever to Portugal, Germany and Mexico. Lucky Number has already concluded the releases in Australia and Taiwan of “The Blue Trail.” The grant has been a big help for the distribution of “The Nature of Invisible Things” according to Cosimo Santoro of The Open Reel.
Naturally, the fund will also be useful for promotional activities and the creation of materials. The smaller contribution allocated to The Open Reel — as the film’s salesagent — will enable us to release the film directly via VOD in Italy, covering the preparation of Italian-language materials (posters, subtitles and trailers). We are, of course, also organizing an appropriate press campaign for the launch.
As one of the six titles shortlisted to represent Brazil at the Oscars, its upcoming releases in the territories where it has been sold will also help maintain public interest, Santoro added. In addition to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, the film has sold in Latin America, Asia, the Balkans, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, Australia, Spain, Portugal and the MENA region. Screen Brasil was established last year by the Brazilian Tourism Board (Embratur) and the Olga Rabinovich Institute’s Projeto Paradiso support program with the aim of strengthening the international distribution of Brazilian fiction feature films.
The initiative has increased the number of selected films from three to four and now features two selection cycles, the first of which is accepting applications from July 2 to Oct. 2. Two international distribution proposals will be selected in each cycle. The first call will accept films released between 2024 and 2026.
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