What just happened?
Rotterdam’s Hubert Bals Fund teamed up with Brazilian partners to launch HBF+Brazil: Co-development Support, a pilot program handing out ten €10,000 grants to promising second- and third-time Brazilian filmmakers. The point? Give a push to distinctive voices across São Paulo, Rio and the rest of the country and help these stories find audiences at home and abroad.
The tone: delightfully weird and proudly Brazilian
Think UFO sightings, a mom with uncanny powers, colonial emperors touring Egypt, and a teen with a third eye dropping bars in rap battles. This slate mixes genres, eras and neighborhoods — from period drama to sci‑fi to intimate family stories — with a healthy dose of music, politics and satire.
The 10 films to keep an eye on
Bicho — Madiano Marcheti: A calf’s break for freedom into the brutal Cerrado triggers a messy feud between an obsessive farmer and his neighbor. Rural drama with teeth.
Brasa — Marcelo Caetano: The director of a recent urban hit pivots to a colonial-set period piece, promising a fresh take on Brazil’s past.
Enquanto não voltam — Anita Rocha da Silveira: Set around Rio’s 1986 “Night of the UFOs,” three young music fans stumble into extraterrestrial encounters as they try to heal wounds left by the dictatorship. Strange, musical and a little spooky.
Irmã mais velha — Rafaela Camelo: After a family tragedy, a volatile mother uses eerie, otherworldly abilities to console her daughter. Tender, unsettling and focused on childhood resilience.
Laguna — Maurílio Martins: A man freshly released from prison seeks a fresh start, but ghosts from his past make it harder than he expected. A quiet, character-driven restart story.
Um longo despir-se — Pedro Geraldo: Two timelines collide — a 1930s textile worker steals fabric to make a dress for her brother, and years later a trans woman searches for that same dress. A film about longing, identity and the objects that carry memory.
Múmia tropical — Lucas Parente: An imaginative historical detour following Brazil’s Emperor Dom Pedro II on an 1876 trip to Egypt, where encounters with ancient lore promise a playful blend of history and myth.
Olhos de Yara — Lincoln Péricles Pinto: When a teenager suddenly sprouts a third eye, her life turns into a mix of rap battles, tight friendships and the noisy politics of her neighborhood. Hip-hop energy meets magical-realism adolescence.
Papiloscopista — Carlos Segundo: By day, a fingerprint analyst; by night, a chameleon-like figure slipping into other identities. Expect twists, secrecy and a tense game of cat-and-mouse.
Sobre noix — Luciano Vidigal: Two Black women from a Rio favela set out to adopt and build a family. Warm, grounded and rooted in community life.
Why this matters
This program isn’t just pocket change — it’s a visibility play. By combining festival know-how with Brazilian film bodies and even the tourism board, HBF+Brazil aims to amplify diverse stories and help them travel beyond local screens. The selection shows an appetite for bold ideas and filmmakers ready for the next step.
Final take
Short version: prepare for a very entertaining mix. These projects promise everything from cosmic encounters and historical detours to political textures and streetwise music culture. Keep an eye on festival lineups — this pilot could be the launchpad for the next big wave of Brazilian cinema. Bring your curiosity, your headphones, and maybe some binoculars for UFO season.