Brazil’s Fernanda Torres, Oscar-nominated for her stirring performance in Walter Salles’ 2025 international feature Academy Award winner “I’m Still Here,” is joining four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe (“Poor Things,” “Platoon”) in Bárbara Paz’s upcoming feature, “Cuddle.”
Set in a near-future metropolis where intimacy is bought and sold, “Cuddle” follows Dante (Dafoe), a professional cuddler paid to provide warmth, comfort and human connection to strangers.
His solitary life is upended when he meets Ava (Torres), an immigrant woman whose quiet strength and deep empathy awaken something long buried in them both. Their unlikely connection becomes a lifeline — and a chance at transformation, a moving reminder that even the smallest act of affection can change a life forever.
Described as a dystopian character-driven drama, it is the latest pic from the “I’m Still Here” co-producer, auteur-driven Brazilian powerhouse Conspiração. Set against the backdrop of contemporary touch therapy culture and urban alienation, “Cuddle” aims to reflect on humanity’s desire for closeness, meaning and affection in a fragmented modern world.
BP Produções, Buena Vista International, Walter and João Moreira Salles’ VideoFilmes, Infinity Hill and TV Globo have boarded as co-producers.
