Enock Carvalho and Matheus Farias’ Locarno-winning “The Riverbank” won the Best Fiction Feature Film award at this year’s Rio Film Festival, while Eryk Rocha’s “Elza” won the Best Documentary Feature Film award. The awards were distributed tonight in a magnificent ceremony at Rio de Janeiro’s legendary Odeon cinema.
“The Riverbank” is set in Recife and follows young cleaner Izaquiel (Caique Copque), whose search for intimacy at night leads him to magnetic fisherman Jeremias (Ítalo Martins). As violence approaches, they both embark on a journey deep into the mangroves; where reality and myth intertwine, where the invisible power structures that govern their world are revealed. This is the duo’s first feature film and comes just months after Farias won a Platino Award for editing Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Oscar-nominated “Secret Agent.”
“Elza” is the sequel to Rocha’s film “The Falling Sky,” which received critical acclaim at the Directors’ Fortnight. The film is an extensive documentary about Elza Soares, one of Brazil’s most famous singers and public figures. Drawing on rare archival material and intimate conversations between Soares and the director during the final years of her life, “Elza” traces the seven-decade career of the icon, revealing the many facets of the woman behind the legend. The project comes with the support of high-caliber partners such as Aruac Filmes (“Cinema Novo”), Maria Farinha Filmes (“The Beginning of Life”), Globo Filmes (“I’m Still Here”), RAI Cinema and Gullane+.
Other important Brazilian films of the year also received top awards; these include Gabriel Martins’ “In the Name of My Son,” selected in Toronto, “London” selected by Victor di Marco and Márcio Picoli in Venice, and Ricardo Alves Jr.’s “The French Teacher,” which hails San Sebastián.
This year’s Premiére Brasil jury was chaired by veteran “La Bola Negra” producer Esther García, who also included Jacqueline Lyanga, the Berlinale’s co-director of programming; French producer Sophie Erbs; composer Flavia Tygel; and casting director Marcela Altberg.
The New Trends jury was chaired by director and editor Karen Harley; screenwriter Maira Oliveira; producer Dora Amorim; director and screenwriter Guto Parente. The Felix Jury, devoted to films addressing LGBTQIA+ issues, was chaired by attorney Ericka Gavinho; director and screenwriter Clara Anastacia; Cultural critic Guilherme Terri, also known as Rita Von Hunty; filmmaker Vita; and cultural programmer Rodrigo Gerace.
You can see the full list of winners below:
Premier Brazil
Fictional Feature Film: “The Riverbank,” dir. Enock Carvalho, Matheus Farias
Documentary Feature Film: “Elza,” dir. Eryk Rocha
Short Film: “Santo,” dir. Maria Luisa Alves
Director – Editor: Gabriel Martins, “In the Name of My Son”
Director – Documentary: Camila Valença, “Cão Sem Plumas”
Actor: Victor di Marco, “London”
Actress – formerly: Isabel Teixeira, “Diário do Fogo” and Grace Passô, “The French Teacher”
Supporting Actor: Pedro Goifman, “The French Teacher”
Supporting Actress: Renna Costa, Artia and Ísis Broken, “The Riverbank” Screenplay: “On Behalle of My Son,” Gabriel Martins
Edited – verbatim: Cristina Amaral, Fabio Meira and Juliano Castro, “A Extraordinária Vida de Vera Valdez” and Cristiane Oliveira and Tula Anagnostopoulos, “Foi Ali Guardar o Coração na Fridge”
Cinematography: Luciana Baseggio, “Riverside”
Art Director: Ana Paula Cardoso, “Funk”
Costume Design: Samy Sill, “London”
Sound Design: Moabe Filho, Guma Farias, Daniel Turini and João Victor Coura, “The Riverbank”
Original Music: Florencia Di Concilio, “The French Teacher”
Jury Prize: “O Filho da Puta”, dir. Erica Maradona, Tania Anaya, Otto Guerra and Sávio Leite
Documentary Film – Audience Award: “Fui Olhar Você Dormir,” Anna Azevedo
Fiction Film – Audience Award: “In the Name of My Son.” Gabriel Martins
New Directions (New Trends)
Feature Film: “We Are Not Dreaming,” dir. Ulysses Arthur
Short Film: “Ondas de Silêncio,”. Caio J. Bonfim
Director: Thais Fujinaga, “Talisman”
Actress: Nina Prado, “O Deserto de Luiza”
Actor: Pedro Leão, “We Don’t Dream”
Special Jury Prize: Director Cas from “Um Domingo”. Maíra Bühler, Rô Albuquerque
Best Feature Film – Audience Award: “O Deserto de Luiza.” Alan Minas
Felix Awards (for LGBTQIA+ themed films)
Brazilian Movie: “By the River”, dir. Enock Carvalho, Matheus Farias
International Film: “In a Low Voice,” dir. Leyla Buzid
Documentary: “Dad, Dad”. Jake Witzenfeld
Special Jury Prize: “Morpheus and Charon”, direction. Jocimar Dias Jr, Luiz Ulian
Honorable Mention: “Elephants in the Fog”, dir. Abinash Bikram Shah
TV Globo Acquisition Award: “Maria Vitória”, dir. Mario Patrocinio
Telecine Achievement Award: “Six Months in the Pink and Blue Building”. Bruno Santamaría Razo
Foreign Correspondents Association Award: “Let It Be Us”. Viviane D’Avilla
Honorable Mention: “144 – Apocalypse No”, dir. João Paulo Cuenca
FIPRESCI Prize
Best Latin American Film: “Six Months in the Pink and Blue Building”
Best Brazilian Film: “London”