Miyu Distribution Picks Up 'Ana, en Passant', a Hand-Drawn Debut Headed for Vancouver and Brasília
Miyu Distribution has acquired international rights to Ana, en Passant, the feature debut of Brazilian director Fernanda Salgado, ahead of its world premiere at the Brasília Brazilian Film Festival and international premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival, according to Variety.
The film is the first animated title to compete in VIFF's Vanguard programme — a section typically reserved for live-action boundary-pushers. It screens at the festival on Saturday, October 10 at 6:30 pm, with an 18+ rating and a 90-minute runtime, according to VIFF. A Brazilian theatrical release follows on November 5.
Ana, en Passant follows Ana, a young Black French woman who travels to Belo Horizonte — her late grandmother's birth city — and encounters Alice, her exact double. Jéssica Pierina plays both roles. The cast also includes Zezé Motta, the legendary Brazilian actress whose international breakthrough came in 1977 as the title character of Cacá Diegues' Xica; Carlos Francisco, known from The Secret Agent; and Odilon Esteves and Robert Frank, per IMDb.
Salgado frames the film as "the journey of two young Black women searching for themselves and their places in the world," as she told Variety. The story draws on Belo Horizonte as both setting and emotional anchor.
Visually, the film is a hybrid. It blends rotoscoping (tracing over live-action footage, frame by frame), hand-drawn 2D animation, collage and stop motion. Marcella Tamayo leads the art direction; Camila Kater, an animator whose short The Ketchup Effect toured the festival circuit, leads the animation direction. The original soundtrack comes from Metá Metá, a São Paulo trio whose sound fuses Brazilian folk, jazz and Afro-Brazilian rhythms.
The production is a three-country co-production: Belo Horizonte's Apiario Creative Studio, Portugal's Sardinha em Lata and France's Midralgar. Fernanda Alves Salgado also serves as producer. The project was first pitched at the Mifa Feature Film Pitches during the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2019, and was one of five titles at the 2025 Annecy Animation Showcase at Cannes' Marché du Film — the industry market that runs alongside the festival, where sales agents and buyers negotiate distribution deals. It was completed in 2026, per the Marché du Film.
Luce Grosjean, co-founder and president of Miyu Distribution, told Variety the film stood out for how its visual language and story are deeply intertwined. Salgado is also in development with AIMÓ, a family animated feature, per Berlinale Talents.
Miyu Distribution, a France-based sales outfit specialising in animated cinema, will handle international sales — meaning it represents the film to distributors and festivals outside its home territories. The Brasília premiere and the Vanguard slot at VIFF give the film two festival platforms before its November theatrical run in Brazil.
