Rio's RioFilme and Brazil's Federal Government Announce $23 million Incentives Package for Film and TV Production, Distribution
RIO DE JANEIRO – Leonardo Edde, president director of Rio's state-owned film agency RioFilme announced a package of incentives for film and TV production and distribution worth a total R$ 131 million ($23 million) during a panel at Rio2C on Thursday.
With Edde joined on the panel by Alex Braga, president director of Brazilian film-TV agency Ancine, and Marcio Tavares, exec secretary of Brazil's Ministry of Culture, the round table also allowed its speakers to set some priorities for federal and Rio film-TV policy.
More from Variety
TV Globo to Bow 'Aberto ao Publico' in July, the First Comedy Show From New Regional Hubs Across Brazil (EXCLUSIVE)
'I'm Still Here's' Fernanda Torres to Star in 'Os Corretores,' Which She Wrote, With Conspiraçao and Globo Filmes Producing (EXCLUSIVE)
Spanish Mart-Meet Iberseries & Platino Industria Looks to Europe, Aims to Boost Spanish-Language International Distribution
Brazil's federal government will put up R$100 million ($17.5 million) of the package tapping into its powerful Audiovisual Sector Fund (FSA), administered by Ancine; Rio's City Hall will cover the remaining R$31 million ($5.5 million) as part of a pioneering cooperation between federal and local governments.
RioFilme will distribute the coin to Rio-based companies through public tenders, a usual practice in Brazil. The call for applications opens June 25.
The public-sector aid package also includes incentives to different areas of production and distribution. A total of R$39 million ($6.8 million) will be destined to complement the financing of 12 live-action or animated feature film projects with strong B.O. potential.
Another R$20 million ($3.5 million) will complement the financing of 10 low-budget film projects. In both cases, in order to apply, producers must already have raised part of their pics' financing, but not enough to go into production.
A second line of incentives totalling R$16 million ($2.8 million) aims to complement the financing of six fictional live-action or animated series.
The package also includes a R$5 million ($880,000) funding line for the development of films, TV series, animations and docs projects.
For distribution, the package has an R$8 million ($1.4 million) subsidy budget to fund the theatrical release of 10 features.
'For us in Ancine, having a local partner is very positive, because it assures that the funding will be properly invested. We understand that Rio de Janeiro is strategic for the development of the film and TV industry in Brazil,' said Braga.
Edde praised the cooperation with the federal government and vowed to continue.
'As of July, we will be negotiating with the federal government a second round of financing that hopefully will be in place by the end of this year,' he said.
Tavares talked about one of the key issues for Brazilian producer and government alike, the creation of investment quotas for VOD players in Brazil, along the lines of those created in many E.U. states.
'In these two and a half years of (President Lula's) government, we invested more in the audiovisual sector than any other government. The next step is the regulation of the streamers,' Tavares said. 'We must pass the regulation in Congress this year. With the recent international prizes, Brazilians are proud of their films, and we must profit from this favorable scenario to approve the regulations.'
Latin America's largest creativity event, Rio2C takes place in Rio over May 27 – June 1.
Best of Variety
'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts?
New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week
Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
a day ago
- Axios
LA Dodgers to donate $1M to help immigrants hit by ICE raids
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced it will donate $1 million to assist immigrant families recently affected by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the Los Angeles area. Why it matters: The announcement came after the reigning World Series champions had come under criticism earlier this month for failing to speak out against the ICE raids and for unsuccessfully pressuring a singer not to perform a Spanish version of the national anthem at a Dodgers game. It also came on the heels of a petition signed by a group of activists, faith and labor leaders, urging the team to speak out more. Zoom in: The Dodgers said the team will commit $1 million toward assistance for families of immigrants affected by the recent events in the city. The team also announced plans for further initiatives, which are set to be unveiled in the coming days. It was the first public response to the immigration raids that have struck Los Angeles over the last two weeks. What they're saying: "What's happening in Los Angeles has reverberated among thousands upon thousands of people, and we have heard the calls for us to take a leading role on behalf of those affected," Stan Kasten, Dodgers president & CEO, said in a statement. "We believe that by committing resources and taking action, we will continue to support and uplift the communities of Greater Los Angeles. LA Mayor Karen Bass thanked the Dodgers in the same team statement. "These last weeks have sent shockwaves of fear rippling through every neighborhood and have had a direct impact on our economy. My message to all Angelenos is clear: We will stick together during this time and we will not turn our backs on one another," she said. Context: Protests broke out earlier this month near a Home Depot in the LA County city of Paramount, after ICE agents carried out a deportation operation targeting day laborers. The Trump administration then ordered National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to quell protests over the objections of local and state officials. The event generated solidarity protests by Latinos in other cities, from Houston to Atlanta. State of play: Latino fans — especially Mexican Americans — comprise a large percentage of the Dodgers' fan base, a trend that has been ongoing since the late 1980s, when Mexican-born left-handed pitcher Fernando Valenzuela played for the team. The initial lack of response from the Dodgers has angered many Latino fans who have protested outside the stadium and posted social media photos of ICE and Border Patrol agents near the Dodgers' grounds. Other LA-area professional teams, including LAFC and Angel City FC, issued statements about "fear and uncertainty" being felt throughout the city. The intrigue: The Dodgers said on Thursday that they refused to grant ICE access around the stadium before their game with the San Diego Padres, another team with a large Mexican American fan base. "This morning, ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to access the parking lots. They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization. Tonight's game will be played as scheduled," the Dodgers posted on X. Yes, but: ICE denied on X that agents were at Dodger Stadium. "False. We were never there," ICE posted. posted on X.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
New York mayoral candidate arrested by Ice: ‘Trump is looking to stoke conflict, weaponize fear'
As the New York city comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was hauled away by masked Ice agents on Tuesday, all he could think about was whether there was anything more he could do for the man he was trying to help, an immigrant New Yorker named Edgardo. Both men ended up detained, but unlike Edgardo's, Lander's ordeal was over after a few hours. By the time the New York governor, Katy Hochul, marched him out of the courthouse – after proclaiming, of his arrest: 'This is bullshit' – videos and photos of the officers manhandling him had gone viral. The arrest of yet another elected official prompted widespread condemnation of another sign of the US's steady slide into authoritarianism. A host of New York politicians, along with a swelling crowd of angry New Yorkers, awaited Lander outside the courthouse in downtown Manhattan. (Andrew Cuomo, the former governor and mayoral race frontrunner, was a notable absence, though he did condemn the arrest.) 'I wasn't surprised there were a lot of folks outside angry both about the violations of the rights of immigrants and about Trump's efforts to undermine democracy,' Lander told the Guardian in an interview. 'The Trump administration has been very clear that they are looking to stoke conflict, weaponize fear, and undermine democracy, and here they are doing it,' he added. Lander was 'just fine', he told the crowd. He had lost a button in the commotion. But he would sleep in his bed and while no charges against him were filed, he would have had access to a lawyer if they had been. 'But Edgardo will sleep in an Ice detention facility God knows where tonight,' he said. 'He has been stripped of his due process rights in a country that is supposed to be founded on equal justice under law.' A day after the ordeal, Lander said he had no updates on Edgardo, a Spanish-speaking immigrant whom Lander had met just before they were both detained. Lander had been accompanying Edgardo as part of an organized effort to shield immigrants from agents who have been increasingly stalking them for arrest when they appear for their regularly scheduled court hearings. On Tuesday, the group watching proceedings at the court included four rabbis, in addition to Lander, his wife Meg Barnette, and other advocates. He's been showing up, he says, because people in the immigration court system are otherwise unprotected. 'This is one of the rights violations of this system,' he said. 'All these people in it with no lawyers and really no one, no advocates, no one looking out for them.' With early voting well under way and election day less than a week away, the New York City mayoral race is heating up – and Wednesday's arrest has significantly raised the visibility of Lander, a well-respected, longtime New York politician who has nonetheless struggled to gain recognition in what is largely a race between Cuomo and the leftist Zohran Mamdani. (Mamdani rushed to the courthouse on Wednesday as soon as news of Lander's arrest broke.) Lander, who like Mamdani is pitching a progressive vision for a more affordable city, is also running on his years-long experience with city government and his bridge-building skills. Lander is the third Democratic politician recently detained by Department of Homeland Security officials in connection with Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. In this distinction, he joins the California senator Alex Padilla, recently handcuffed and forcibly removed from a DHS press conference, and Newark's mayor, Ras Baraka, who was arrested while protesting outside an immigration detention center in New Jersey last month. Lander sees in the targeting of outspoken Democratic politicians the fulfillment of the Trump administration's promise to 'liberate' cities such as Los Angeles and New York. He said it was 'strange' to find himself a casualty of the administration's crackdown. 'But unfortunately not that strange, as Trump has named New York City on the list of places where they are planning to both ratchet up immigration enforcement and put pressure on elected officials.' In recent weeks Ice agents have been ordered to ramp up arrests, even without warrants. In a video of Lander's arrest, he is heard asking Ice agents multiple times for a warrant – which they do not produce – before telling them, as they place him in handcuffs, that they 'don't have the authority to arrest US citizens asking for a judicial warrant'. The Ice agents who arrested him knew he was an elected official, Lander said. He tried to learn more about them while he was detained. 'I asked a few questions just to understand who they were,' he said. They were also immigrants – one a Pakistani Muslim resident of Brooklyn, the other an Indo-Guyanese man from Queens. 'I asked about their shifts. I hear that Ice agents are working a lot of hours right now,' he said. 'Brad's arrest was shocking – not in the violence, not in the lawlessness, because we've seen this directed at immigrants and citizens profiled as immigrants – but in the decision from Ice to inflict that violence on a sitting elected citywide official,' said Sophie Ellman-Golan, an organizer with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, of which Lander has been a member for decades. Along with JFREJ, he has been working with Immigrant Act, another advocacy group, in shifts to accompany immigrants to court hearings. Lander has gained some momentum after challenging Cuomo during a recent mayoral debate and cross-endorsing fellow progressive Mamdani. But he consistently polled in third place in the race, well behind the other two. Lander called out the current mayor – Eric Adams, who offered little sympathy – of having 'sold out our city' through corruption. He said Cuomo 'made no effort whatsoever to reach out to most New Yorkers' and that he and Mamdani cross-endorsed one another 'because we fundamentally agree that Andrew Cuomo is utterly unfit to be mayor of this city'. He cited Cuomo's hesitation when he was asked in a recent debate whether he had visited a mosque. 'He has nothing to say to Muslim New Yorkers,' said Lander. 'He is an abusive bully who doesn't even love New York City and is just in it for himself.' While some of his supporters criticised him over the Mamdani endorsement – largely due to Mamdani's openly pro-Palestinian views – Lander said that there was 'an enormous outpouring of goodwill for it'. 'It really did prompt a sense of, 'Oh, politics could be not just about individuals looking out for themselves, but trying to build something broader that would build a more aspirational vision for the city, and help people come together around it. 'Obviously, I am putting my case out for why I will be the best mayor of New York City,' he said, citing recent endorsements as a sign his campaign is surging. But, he added, he also hoped to promote a politics 'that's trying to bring people together across divides, and in this case, having one Jewish New Yorker and one Muslim New Yorker cross-endorse in that way offers a hopeful project'. 'Whoever wins, I intend to continue to pursue that hopeful politics.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Massachusetts students and teachers protest teen's ‘inhumane' arrest by Ice
Students at Massachusetts's Milford high school staged a walkout on Monday to show support for their classmate Marcelo Gomes Da Silva, who was headed to volleyball practice when he was detained over the weekend by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents who were actually looking for his father. Gomes Da Silva, a Brazilian national, entered the US in 2012 on a student visa, according to a court document since filed by his lawyer. The filing states that Gomes Da Silva's student visa status has since lapsed – but that he is eligible for and intends to apply for asylum. Currently a junior at Milford high school, Gomes Da Silva has 'no criminal history anywhere in the world', his lawyer maintained. He was reportedly being held at Ice's Boston field office, and his attorney filed a petition seeking his immediate release, arguing that his detention was unlawful. Da Silva's plight has inspired protests. On Monday, many students at Milford high school staged a walkout in solidarity with Gomes Da Silva, holding signs and wearing T-shirts that said 'Free Marcelo'. The Massachusetts Teachers Association issued a statement on Monday supporting the walkout and condemning Ice's actions as 'cruel' and 'inhumane'. 'Milford students are leading and their educators are following with admiration, moved by their commitment to do what is right and their solidarity with a classmate in need,' the statement said. 'Communities are rising,' the statement added. 'Just yesterday, 200 Milford teachers joined students in their march and rally, standing together in unity and taking their lead. We are inspired by the brave young people who walked out in protest.' A day earlier, Gomes Da Silva was a conspicuous absence at Milford high school's graduation ceremony. According to the Boston Globe, he had been scheduled to perform with the school band at the commencement. After the ceremony, the Boston Globe reported that hundreds of students and community members marched to Milford town hall to protest against Gomes Da Silva's detention and call for his release. Also Sunday, a judge issued a order barring Ice from transferring him out of Massachusetts for at least 72 hours. A second order issued on Monday stated that Gomes Da Silva 'shall not be moved outside the district of Massachusetts without providing the court 48 hours' advance notice of the move and the reason therefore' while the court considers the high schooler's lawsuit. The judge also gave the government 14 days to respond to the petition. During a news conference on Monday, the acting director of Ice, Todd Lyons, defended the agency's actions, telling reporters that Da Silva was 'in this country illegally and we're not going to walk away from anybody'. Lyons said that immigration agents made the traffic stop because they were looking for Gomes Da Silva's father, who Lyons said was in the US without legal status. Lyons said that Gomes Da Silva was driving his father's vehicle when he was pulled over and detained. 'He was not the target of the investigation,' added Patricia Hyde, the acting director of enforcement and removal operations at Ice's Boston field office. 'He's 18 years old – and he's unlawfully in this country. Unfortunately, we had to go to Milford to look for someone else, and we came across him – he was arrested.' Lyons added that when authorities encounter someone who is in the country illegally, 'we will take action on that'. 'We're doing the job that Ice should have been doing all along,' Lyons said. 'We enforce all immigration laws.' Over the weekend, Maura Healey, the Massachusetts Democratic governor, condemned Gomes Da Silva's arrest, saying that she was 'disturbed and outraged'.
