Whoever is the last to leave a movie theater or whoever lets the streaming roll on TV knows: when the credits of an international film go up, it is increasingly common to see one or another Brazilian name appear.
It is not new to have actors from our country acting around the world, but the situation is different when we have the so-called “cinematographic co-production between countries”.
According to the National Film Agency (Ancine) , an international co-production is a modality of production of an audiovisual work carried out by economic agents that carry out production activities. It can be headquartered in two or more countries and contemplates the sharing of both the responsibilities for the economic organization of the work, including the contribution of financial resources, goods or services, and the heritage of the work among the co-producers.
In other words, a film made under these conditions can have multiple nationalities, with a greater division of accounts and a greater intersection of cultures.
For the producer and distributor Fabiano Gullane Brazil is a major consumer of audiovisual content, both national and from Hollywood, therefore, it is necessary that the country also owns some intellectual properties produced here.
In 2021, according to Ancine, the gross income from the box office of the Brazilian film market was R$ 882 million, and of this amount, just over R$ 15 million went to Brazilian films.
“Brazil has the right and the duty to produce for the external audiovisual sector”, says Fabiano. “It’s a two-way street: the world buys our films and we buy theirs. Only in this way do we stand out in the international market.”
The agency also disclosed that, through the registration of the Brazilian Product Certificate, 176 co-productions were made from 2017 to 2021 – the largest number of which is concentrated in 2019: 44.
There is no shortage of films known to the public that have been Brazilian-international co-productions, such as: “Orfeu Negro” (1960), “Central do Brasil” (1999), “Carandiru” (2003) and “Bacurau” (2019).
To facilitate cinematographic relations, Brazil has bilateral agreements with more than 10 countries, including France, Chile, Israel and Portugal, the latter dating back to 1981.
Bureaucracy
the portuguese director João Mario Grilo had never done a co-production with Brazil, despite having already worked in partnership with several countries.
The documentary “Escrita Intima” (2022), therefore, is his “premier”. The production tells the true story of a couple who, in the midst of World War II, seek refuge in Brazil. The director followed the trail of clues left by the couple such as letters, photos and paintings and ended up arriving in Rio de Janeiro.
“The most authentic cinema is the one that is closest to us, but I prefer to work on a co-production with another country than to work on something only Portuguese”, he says. “In Brazil, I filmed in just two weeks. The public notice authorizing the filming took almost a year to come out, however, the delay allowed me to proceed with the project calmly”.
Bureaucratic delay is not uncommon in the industry. Elias Ribeiro, a Brazilian filmmaker and producer based in South Africa, makes his films with and without co-production treaties, but says that, with a treaty, the bureaucracy is always greater.
“When you don’t obey the rules of a treaty, you are less supported, but you also have a little more freedom and agility to work”.
According to him, without a co-production agreement, the making of the film is based on exchange and with available resources.
“The countries we work with the most at the production company are European countries, but I have also co-produced with Brazil. The movie ‘Luna’ (2019), for example, was made without treaties. It was filmed in Brazil, with post-production in South Africa.”
With more or less bureaucracy, it is clear to filmmakers how fruitful is the mix of cultures that exists when working with co-productions. For Fabiano Gullane, the countries participating in a film need to have a common DNA and cultural and dramaturgical interests in the process.
“It is difficult for you to combine Chinese, Brazilian, French. Everyone has their own way of thinking and working, but it is important that everyone sees the same history and the same production process, otherwise, co-production becomes empty.”
Investment
Producer Elias Ribeiro left Brazil in the 1990s and, after working in several countries, at the age of 30, he came across African cinema.
“I decided to study cinema in South Africa and I saw enormous potential there”, he says. “I aligned my international knowledge with the African stories that needed to be told and we were very successful.”
Ribeiro completes his speech by saying that a producer must know how to establish partnerships and sell ideas, in addition to being able to relate in the midst of public policies. Gullane goes further, pointing out that co-productions are a sign of the health of local public policy.
“Co-productions do not mean that the Brazilian audiovisual market is doing badly and needs to be rescued, on the contrary”, he says. “Help in financing is always welcome, but, in addition, the co-production allows us to participate in festivals around the world, showing the face of current Brazilian cinema and attracting more and more investment.”
Source: CNN Brasil
