Brazil’s Fenix Films Expands into International Co-Productions (EXCLUSIVE)
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Brazilian distributor Fenix Films is moving into co-productions with three projects, including two international projects, one featuring Vincent Cassel and the other Berlin Silver Bear winner Paulina García.
Fenix Films’ first international co-production, “Baden Powell,” is a documentary about Baden Powell, considered by some to be the greatest Brazilian guitarist of all time.
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Directed by Benjamin Passat and Philippe Baden Powell, the musician’s son, the film will be shot throughout this year and features Cassel as one of the interviewees, as well as musicians Gilberto Gil, Maria Bethânia and Yamandu Costa. The project is under negotiation for co-production with France.
The company is also developing “Los anillos de la serpiente,” a drama directed by Chilean helmer Edson Cajas and starring García, who won the Silver Bear for best actress at the 2013 Berlinale “Gloria.” Set in Chile, the film tells the story of an exemplary doctor who is discovered to be a former agent of the military dictatorship.
“Ivan, The TerrirBle,” a documentary by director and film critic Mario Abbade, looks at the career of Ivan Cardoso, one of the most inventive and renowned Brazilian filmmakers and creator of the “terrir” genre, which mixes Brazilian parodic comedy and American horror. The film mixes archival material, documentary scenes, animation and fictional reconstructions in its portrait of a remarkable character in Brazilian cinema.
Fenix Films will also co-produce Abbade’s next feature, “The Mythomaniac.”
The company’s move into co-productions reflects growing difficulties in the market, particularly in Brazil, according to CEO Priscila Miranda do Rosário.
“We are opening new markets and looking for smart solutions to continue bringing good films to our audience. This is not only a Brazilian reality, although here the crisis is very difficult. Distributors worldwide are increasingly investing in film production. The situation is very complicated for all distributors.”
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