Philanthropist Olga Rabinovich will receive the Prêmio Encontros (Encounters Award) at the inaugural edition of this year’s Encontro de Ideias Audiovisuais, the industry platform of the São Paulo International Film Festival. The award honors his enduring commitment to advancing Brazilian cinema and raising the international profile of Brazilian cinema and talent through his work with Projeto Paradiso.
The Encounters Prize was created to highlight the transformative role of private investment in culture, bringing together private funders and the creative professionals behind audiovisual productions. The inaugural honor will be given to Rabinovich during the event’s opening gala ceremony on October 14 and ahead of a conversation event with Neon president Jeff Deutchman.
Born in São Paulo, Rabinovich spent years volunteering in hospitals, working closely with terminally ill patients. In 2018, she founded the Olga Rabinovich Institute and launched Projeto Paradiso soon after. The initiative is dedicated to the advancement of the Brazilian audiovisual sector and was born from his belief that “stories can change the world”, as well as from his decision to invest in the people who create them and want to share them with audiences around the world.
“Olga Rabinovich is the first recipient of the newly created Prêmio Encontros because she was the inspiration behind the award,” said Renata de Almeida, director of the São Paulo International Film Festival. I first heard of Olga in early 2018 when Josephine Bourgois came to see me about someone from the private sector who wanted to establish an institute dedicated to cinema. “The announcement of the Olga Rabinovich Institute was made at the 42nd Mostra and brought a breath of hope at what promises to be a particularly difficult time for Brazilian cinema and culture.”
“Eight years later, Projeto Paradiso, an initiative of the Olga Rabinovich Institute, has already made a major contribution to the discovery and support of the next generation of talent, strengthening Brazil’s audiovisual sector as a whole,” the director continued. “Projeto Paradiso has an outstanding team of professionals, as the results clearly show. But the image that remains with me is of meeting Olga climbing the spiral staircase of our small building for a slightly chaotic coffee in the festival office. Because after all, almost everything actually starts with an encounter.”
Courtesy of Milena Palladino
Earlier this year, Diversity He met with the philanthropist ahead of the third Projeto Paradiso National Network Meeting in Recife, Brazil’s bustling manufacturing hub. Rabinovich said he “likes the idea of supporting cinema because I think it’s a magical art form.” “You walk into a screening room not knowing whether you’ll be delighted, disturbed, or moved. It’s a transformative experience. I think it’s incredible to have a shared artistic experience that moves you in that way.”
Projeto Paradiso offers a wide range of support to Brazilian cinema professionals to maximize their presence on the global stage; supports the development of stories through scholarships, residencies, workshops, and other education and international outreach initiatives. Paradiso Talent Network currently consists of 278 Brazilian professionals.
The organization also helps connect Brazilian talent and projects with the international industry through a network of more than 250 partner institutions in Brazil and abroad, including the Hubert Bals Fund, La Fabrique Cinéma de l’Institut français, TorinoFilmLab, Film Independent and Sundance Institute.
The startup has recently been behind popular festival titles like Allan Deberton’s Berlinale-winning “Gugu’s World” and Grace Passô’s “Our Secret” and has a talent network of 264 professionals, including Anita Rocha da Silveira (“Medusa”), Juliana Rojas (“Good Manners”) and Dira Paes (“Manas”).
In 2025, Projeto Paradiso collaborated with the Embratur Brazilian Tourism Board to launch Screen Brasil, presenting four Brazilian films per year across two calls. The last of these closed on October 2 to support international distribution campaigns; The applications were made by the international sales agency that holds the commercial rights of the film. Announced at the Cannes Marché du Film this May, films supported to date include Gabriel Mascaro’s “The Blue Mile,” Rafaela Camelo’s “The Nature of Invisible Things” and the animated film “Papaya.”
Projeto Paradiso’s relationship with the São Paulo International Film Festival dates back to 2018, when the philanthropic initiative was launched during the festival’s 42nd edition. Since then Projeto Paradiso has gradually expanded its presence at the festival.
Since 2023, it has awarded the annual Paradiso Distribution Support Award, which provides a distribution grant for the theatrical release of a fiction feature film. In 2024, Projeto Paradiso was one of the driving forces behind the new partnership with the Hubert Bals Fund (HBF), which led to the establishment of HBF+Brazil following initial discussions at Encontro de Ideias.
The 50th edition of the São Paulo International Film Festival will take place from October 15 to 29.