Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Feb 7, 2015 20:13:57 GMT -6
variety.com/2015/film/news/berlin-brazilian-filmmakers-tap-into-state-aid-fund-1201425590/
As international markets contract for arthouse films, state funding subsidies such as Cinema do Brasil’s Distribution Support Award have rapidly gained ground as crucial tools.
“We have entered a virtuous circle. Brazilian films are shown at festivals, (gain) interest (from the) press and buyers and open in other countries,” says Cinema do Brasil chairman Andre Sturm.
Offering up to $25,000 to every international distributor, the incentive covers P&A for theatrical releases.
CDB has nearly tripled the Distribution Support Award’s original budget to $280,000. “We are continuously listening to distributors to adapt to market needs,” Sturm says.
Targeting small markets since 2014, CDB allows foreign distributors to apply for the award if they launch the same film in several territories and present multi-pic applications for up to $25,000 in funding.
The award has backed 70-plus releases abroad so far; 13 distributors applied in 2009, 50 in 2014.
Portuguese distrib Nitrato Filmes tapped a CDB award in 2014 to release “Castanha,” “Obra,” “The Man of the Crowd,” “August Winds,” and “I Swear I’ll Leave This Town.”
Another 2014 Distribution Support Award recipient, Paul Hudson’s L.A.-based Outsider Pictures, snagged North American rights to Fernando Coimbra’s “A Wolf at the Door,” which premiered at Austin’s SXSW festival and topped Miami.
“I’ve always felt that good films, like ‘Wolf,’ will find an audience; stories from Brazil are new ones for the U.S. That combination of the new and unknown is appealing,” he says.
“The CDB’s support is very valuable,” says Derek Lui at CineHub, the Hong Kong distributor of Daniel Ribeiro’s “The Way He Looks,” (pictured) a Berlin Teddy Award winner.
The grant “helped lower our distributor’s risk, increasing our incentive to take a chance on well-reviewed festival-selected titles like ‘Way.’ ”
With CDB’s help, CineHub invited Ribeiro to promote his film in Hong Kong, arranging meetings and screening Ribeiro’s short “I Don’t Want to Go Back Alone,” which inspired “Way.”
“With the opportunity of applying for CDB’s funding, we will pay more attention to Brazilian films at festivals and markets, and hopefully encounter another right title,” he says.
As international markets contract for arthouse films, state funding subsidies such as Cinema do Brasil’s Distribution Support Award have rapidly gained ground as crucial tools.
“We have entered a virtuous circle. Brazilian films are shown at festivals, (gain) interest (from the) press and buyers and open in other countries,” says Cinema do Brasil chairman Andre Sturm.
Offering up to $25,000 to every international distributor, the incentive covers P&A for theatrical releases.
CDB has nearly tripled the Distribution Support Award’s original budget to $280,000. “We are continuously listening to distributors to adapt to market needs,” Sturm says.
Targeting small markets since 2014, CDB allows foreign distributors to apply for the award if they launch the same film in several territories and present multi-pic applications for up to $25,000 in funding.
The award has backed 70-plus releases abroad so far; 13 distributors applied in 2009, 50 in 2014.
Portuguese distrib Nitrato Filmes tapped a CDB award in 2014 to release “Castanha,” “Obra,” “The Man of the Crowd,” “August Winds,” and “I Swear I’ll Leave This Town.”
Another 2014 Distribution Support Award recipient, Paul Hudson’s L.A.-based Outsider Pictures, snagged North American rights to Fernando Coimbra’s “A Wolf at the Door,” which premiered at Austin’s SXSW festival and topped Miami.
“I’ve always felt that good films, like ‘Wolf,’ will find an audience; stories from Brazil are new ones for the U.S. That combination of the new and unknown is appealing,” he says.
“The CDB’s support is very valuable,” says Derek Lui at CineHub, the Hong Kong distributor of Daniel Ribeiro’s “The Way He Looks,” (pictured) a Berlin Teddy Award winner.
The grant “helped lower our distributor’s risk, increasing our incentive to take a chance on well-reviewed festival-selected titles like ‘Way.’ ”
With CDB’s help, CineHub invited Ribeiro to promote his film in Hong Kong, arranging meetings and screening Ribeiro’s short “I Don’t Want to Go Back Alone,” which inspired “Way.”
“With the opportunity of applying for CDB’s funding, we will pay more attention to Brazilian films at festivals and markets, and hopefully encounter another right title,” he says.