Two Brazilian films with a successful career on the international festival circuit shared the main prize at the 26th edition of Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival (Festival do Rio) on Sunday night (October 13).
In a tie, Marcelo Caetano’s Baby and Pedro Freire’s Malu have won the best fiction feature award from Premiere Brazil, the main competition section which screened more than 50 local films this year.
In addition to the biggest prize, Baby won in two more categories at the Redentor awards ceremony at the historic Cine Odeon CCLSR in downtown Rio de Janeiro. The queer drama about a young man released from prison who tries to survive on the streets of Sao Paulo took honours for best actor (João Pedro Mariano) and best art direction (Thales Junqueira).
There was no surprise regarding Baby, which was one of the most well-received Brazilian films of the year abroad. It has won several prizes since its world premiere in Cannes Critics’ Week, where Ricardo Teodoro received the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star award. The film is a Brazil-France-Netherlands co-production between Cup Filmes, Desbun Filmes, Plateau Producoes, Still Moving, Circe Films and Kaap Holland Film.
Malu, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Dramatic Competition, is a 100% Brazilian film, produced by Bubbles Project and TVZero. During the Festival do Rio, it sparked one of the most emotional receptions in the main competition section for paying tribute to an important Brazilian actress.
Inspired by Pedro Freire’s own mother, Malu Rocha, an actress who made films and TV soap operas and lived from 1947 to 2013, Malu picked up three more awards: best actress (Yara de Novaes), best supporting actress (shared between Carol Duarte and Juliana Carneiro da Cunha) and best screenplay (Pedro Freire).
The writer-director chose to revisit the last years of Malu’s life, when the actress had a very difficult relationship with her conservative mother and had to come to terms with the end of her career. Freire’s feature directorial debut was selected this year for The New Directors/New Films Festival organised by Museum of Modern Art and Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York.
Another key Redentor, a trophy inspired by the Christ the Redeemer Statue on Corcovado that towers above Rio, was given to Jamilli Correa.
The actress is the heart of Marianna Brennand’s Manas, another Brazilian film which arrived in Rio after recognition from other festivals. The winner of the Venice Days director’s award deals with cases of sexual exploitation of children on Marajó Island, in Northern Brazil.
List of 2024 winners
Best Fiction Feature
Baby, dir. Marcelo Caetano; Malu, dir. Pedro Freire
Special Jury Prize
Jamilli Correa, Manas
Honorable Mention
Diana Mattos, Betania
Best Director, Fiction
Luciano Vidigal, White House
Best Actress
Yara de Novaes, Malu
Best Actor
João Pedro Mariano, Baby
Best Supporting Actress
Carol Duarte and Juliana Carneiro da Cunha, Malu
Best Supporting Actor
Diego Francisco, White House
Best Cinematography
Arthur Sherman, White House
Best Editing
Peterkino, This Is Ballroom
Best Screenplay
Pedro Freire, por Malu
Best Art Direction
Thales Junqueira, Baby
Best Sound
Marcos Lopes, Guile Martins and Toco Cerqueira, The Falling Sky
Best Original Soundtrack
Fernando Aranha and Guga Bruno, White House and Around The Corner
Best Documentary
3 Obás of Xango, dir. Sérgio Machado
Best Director, documentary
Eryk Rocha and Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha, The Falling Sky
Best Short
The Girl And The Pot, dir. Valentina Homem.
No comments yet