It’s been two years since Walter Salles’s Oscar-winning “I’m Still Here” catapulted Rio de Janeiro to screens all over the world, and momentum has continued to build thanks to coordinated efforts by RioFilme. The municipal film and audiovisual agency of Rio de Janeiro has ramped up investment in the city’s audiovisual industry, supporting projects that now bring the city’s name all over the world.
And the agency is reaping what they sowed, with RioFilme having backed three films set to play at this year’s high-profile Shanghai Film Festival: Alan Minas’s “Luiza’s Desert” (“O Deserto de Luiza”) in main competition; Eliza Capai’s “The Fabulous Time Machine” in the Focus Brazil selection delivered as part of the 2026 China-Brazil Year of Culture, and Rogerio Nunes’s “Heart of Darkness,” playing as part of the animation section. See below for full information on the titles.
Speaking with Variety ahead of the world premiere of “Luiza’s Desert,” Minas says he is thrilled to be starting the film’s journey at a festival of “such high importance.” “I believe that, despite the geographical distance and the cultural differences, this distance can be made smaller thanks to the themes of the film,” he adds, emphasizing the universality of family.
