Check out 9 top film festivals in Brazil

Film festivals are an amazing opportunity to get to know Brazil — the country is full of co-production opportunities and incredible locations, a great fit for any project.

01 Gramado Film Festival

Known as the Brazilian Oscars, the event has been held annually since it was made official in 1973 by the National Institute of Cinema. But it became international in 1992, after a significant decrease in public subsidy, causing national productions to plummet drastically. The opening of the exhibition of Ibero-American movies has kept the festival alive and thriving throughout the years.

The host city of Gramado, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, was built by German settlers in a mountainous climate — the architecture inspired by houses typical of the Bavarian region.

During the festival ceremony, 39 categories are awarded, including Best Film (Brazilian and foreign), Best Gaúcho (local) Feature Film, Best Brazilian Short Film and Special Jury Awards.

In 2023, the delivery of the traditional statuette, the Kikito de Ouro (Golden Kikito), will take place between Friday, August 11 and Saturday, August 19.

02 Rio International Festival

The event was created in 1999 to unify the two biggest celebrations of cinema in the city of Rio de Janeiro at that time — the Rio Cine Festival and the Mostra Banco Nacional de Cinema. Since then, the festival has only missed one year: the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, activities were resumed remotely.

Over the years, directors such as Roman Polanski, Peter Greenaway and Tom Tykwer, as well as actors as Samuel L. Jackson, Marisa Paredes and Willem Dafoe have walked the red carpet for this ceremony.

The festival awards 11 categories, including Best Fiction Feature Film, Best Documentary Feature Film and Best Short Film.

The 2023 edition will take place between Thursday, October 5 and Sunday, October 15.

If you wish to film in Rio soon, this event is a great opportunity to network, participate in workshops and meet Brazilian co-production partners in the audiovisual industry.

03 Brasília Festival of Brazilian Cinema

The first among the film festivals in Brazil, the Brasília Festival is a celebration of the seventh art, involving the entire city and unprecedented productions of the national audiovisual sector. It was created in 1965 to celebrate the movement called Cinema Novo, bringing together names such as Glauber Rocha and Cacá Diegues.

In addition to the Competitive Show, this event aims to showcase works produced in the Brazilian capital, in categories such as Short Film, Feature Film, Best Films selected by the Official Jury and Popular Jury and Best Films with an Affirmative Theme. The event also organises workshops, masterclasses and meetings for industry professionals.

The ceremony date for 2023 has not been released yet, but it usually occurs in September.

04 Fantaspoa

The Porto Alegre Fantastico Film Festival, or simply Fantaspoa, was created in 2005 and presents films of fantasy, science fiction, horror and thriller genres, in national and international feature and short films.

The festival reached record audiences in 2020, with more than 67,000 spectators watching the program online — in the past, the average was around 10,000. In 2021, Fantaspoa was chosen by Dread Central (one of the best American websites for reviews and news on horror movies) as one of the best festivals in this genre.

Currently, the event takes place in a hybrid form and offers commented sessions, professional meetings and parties. The 2023 edition will be held between Thursday, April 13 and Sunday, April 30.



05 It's All True (International Documentary Film Festival)

The first festival dedicated to documentaries in Latin America, It’s All True has been held since 1996. Its founder-director is Amir Labaki, one of the great Brazilian genre critics.

This event specifically accepts submissions of medium length films, along with feature and short films. It provides cash rewards for national and international movies chosen by an official jury, as well as selects for honourable mentions.

The 2023 edition takes place between Thursday, April 13 and Sunday, April 23, in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo simultaneously.

06 Curta Cinema Festival (Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival)

Focused on films with a maximum duration of 30 minutes, this festival promotes national and international competitions and special programs. It also offers workshops, talks and debates.

One highlight is the fact that the event qualifies movies to claim an Oscar nomination in the Short Film category (Animated, Documentary or Live Action).

In 2023, the ceremony will take place in Rio between Wednesday, November 8 and Wednesday, November 15.



07 Curta Kinoforum (São Paulo International Short Film Festival)

Created by the Brazilian producer Zita Carvalhosa, this festival was launched in the 1990s and has international, Latin and Brazilian films as its core.

Curta Kinoforum also creates, in each edition, a series of special programs, based on submitted films and suggestions from the curators.

The program includes around 200 short films each year, which are shown for free in movie theatres and cultural centres in São Paulo.

The event awards: 

• Brazilian films: in Brazil and Children & Youth Exhibitions;
• Foreign films: International, Latin American and Children & Youth Exhibitions;
• Special programs.

The 2023 edition will take place from Thursday, August 24 to Sunday, September 3.

08 Festival comKids - Prix Jeunesse Iberoamericano

This biannual event is entirely designed for Portuguese and Spanish-speaking children and adolescents, with categories for kids up to six years old, seven to ten years old and 11 to 15 years old.

In addition to showing films for this specific audience, comKids also holds training and professional workshops.

The festival was announced to take place in the first half of August 2023 in São Paulo.

09 Anima Mundi

Held in the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Anima Mundi is the largest animation festival in Latin America and the second largest in the world.

Present in the industry since 1993, it offers four awards: 

• Grand Prix (in which the selected project is eligible for an Oscar nomination in the Animated Short Film category);
• Professional Jury Awards, in the categories for Best Art Direction, Best Animation Technique and Best Virtual Reality Film;
• Popular Jury Awards, in the categories for Best Student Short Film, Best Short Film for Children and Best Documentary Film;
• Canal Brasil Short Film Award.

Aside from the exhibitions, it promotes animation workshops with seven different techniques, in addition to Anima Forum, Anima Business and Animarket, which promotes meetings for the industry. 

After a significant loss of sponsorship in 2020, the event awaits an opportunity to return.



Brazil is a hot spot when it comes to the audiovisual industry, staying active and up-to-date.

With almost 360 festivals spread across its territory, finding the one that is closest to your professional interests is a guarantee for good business and partnerships within the country itself, or in Latin America and other continents.

If you need more tips about how to co-produce and shoot in Brazil, Story Productions will be pleased to help you find partners, production and post-production teams or anything else you need.

Contact us and we can guarantee the best quote for your project!