The leading edge

Walter Salles

Known internationally as a director, Walter Salles is also a seasoned producer. At Videofilmes, the company he created in 1985 in partnership with his brother Joao Moreira Salles, he has been backing the newest generation of Brazilian film-makers, including Sergio Machado (Lower City, The Two Deaths Of Quincas Wateryell), Karim Ainouz (Madame Sata, Suely In The Sky) and Eduardo Valente (Eye Of The Storm). Salles also produced his own Linha De Passe and is a producer on his next directorial project, an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road.

Contact Videofilmes

mauricio@Videofilmes.com.br

Walkiria Barbosa

Co-founding Total Entertainment in 1998 to make films for all ages and all classes, Walkiria Barbosa produced the highest-grossing domestic film since the Brazilian renaissance: Daniel Filho’s If I Were You 2, which scored 6.1 million admissions last year. Barbosa’s other hits include Jorge Fernando’s Sexo, Amor E Traicao and the Brazilian version of High School Musical. Walkiria is the executive director of the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival and the director of RioMarket, the business section of the event.

Contact Total Filmes

total@totalfilmes.com.br

Andrea Barata Ribeiro

Fernando Meirelles’ partner in O2 Filmes, Andrea Barata Ribeiro produced Meirelles’ City Of God in 2002 and the director’s $25m Blindness, a co-production with Rhombus Media in Canada and Bee Vine Pictures in Japan. One of Brazil’s most influential producers, Ribeiro has a strong eye for new talent and has worked on internationally acclaimed titles including Heitor Dhalia’s Adrift.

Contact www.o2filmes.com.br

Mariza Leao

Head of Morena Filmes with director Sergio Rezende, Mariza Leao is a veteran producer. Her output is diverse, ranging from period titles such as Rezende’s Zuzu Angel, to contemporary stories such as Matheus Souza’s Apenas O Fim. Leao also produced Mauro Lima’s My Name Ain’t Johnny, the most successful Brazilian film in 2008.

Contact Morena Filmes

morenafilmes@ism.com.br

Fabiano and Caio Gullane

Brothers Fabiano and Caio Gullane have been producing since 1996, when they formed Gullane Filmes. They have an instinct for arthouse films, such as Cao Hamburger’s The Year My Parents Went On Vacation, but have also notched up commercial successes including Hector Babenco’s Carandiru. Increasingly, the brothers are financing their titles through private investment and international resources: recently they co-produced Marco Bechis’ Birdwatchers with Italy’s Classic, and Yu Lik-wai’s Plastic City with Hong Kong’s Xstream Pictures and Sundream, and Bitter’s End in Japan.

Contact Gullane Filmes

international@gullane.com

Paula Barreto

The daughter of producers Luiz Carlos Barreto and Lucy Barreto, Paula Barreto took over the administration of the family companies LC Barreto and Filmes do Equador in the late 1990s. Her credits include Money On The Side (2007), directed by her brother Bruno Barreto, Miguel Falabella’s Urban Snap-Shots (2008) and Lula, O Filho Do Brasil (2009), a biopic about the Brazilian president directed by her brother Fabio Barreto.

Contact www.lcbarreto.com.br

Paula Lavigne

A partner in music label Natasha Records, Lavigne diversified into film production in the mid-1990s. At Natasha Filmes, the company’s film arm, Lavigne  is known for commercial output such as Guel Arraes’ 2003 hit Lisbela E O Prisioneiro and Mauricio Farias’  O Coronel E O Lobisomen. Recently, her company produced Guel Arraes’ O Bem Amado and she is also involved in Reis E Ratos, directed by Mauro  Lima in association with O2 Filmes.

Contact Natasha Filmes

natasha@natasha.com.br

Sara Silveira

One of the most prolific producers since the Brazilian renaissance, Sara Silveira produced Esmir Filho’s directorial debut The Famous And The Dead, Marcelo Gomes’ Movies, Aspirin And Vultures and Lais Bodanzky’s Brainstorm. She has also produced most of veteran director Carlos Reichenbach’s films (he is her partner in the Sao Paulo-based Dezenove Som e Imagens).

Contact Dezenove Som e Imagens

dezenove@uol.com.br

Daniel Filho

Daniel Filho has been directing, producing and writing for more than 40 years. The artistic director of Globo Filmes, the movie arm of the broadcaster TV Globo, he has nearly 80 producing credits including hits such as Sandra Werneck and Walter Carvalho’s Cazuza — O Tempo Nao Para. More recently, he directed the successful franchise If I Were You and his latest film, Chico Xavier, which he also produced, is the highest-grossing local film so far this year with 3.4 million tickets sold. He has operated his own production company, Lereby Producoes, since 1996.

Contact Lereby Producoes 

lereby@lereby.com.br

Leonardo M Barros

A partner in Conspiracao Filmes, Barros is based in Hamburg, focusing on the company’s international co-productions such as Andrucha Waddington’s upcoming Lope, co-produced with Spain’s Antena 3, Telefonica, El Toro Pictures and Ikiru Films. Such co-productions are key to Conspiracao’s expansion plans. Upcoming projects include Vern Oakley’s Paraty with Tribe Pictures in the US, and Waddington’s biopic Ruskin with UK and US partners. Barros’ credits include Breno Silveira’s Two Sons Of Francisco, which scored 5.3 million admissions in 2005.

Contact Leonardo M Barros

Lmb@conspira.com.br