RioMarket brings TikTok creators inside its Oct. 1-11 industry edition

Rio's film market is bringing 40 TikTok creators into the same building as producers, buyers and festival programmers.

RioMarket, the business section of the Rio International Film Festival, will run from Oct. 1-11 with TikTok as a partner, according to Variety, which reported the plan on Sept. 25.

TikTok will hold a three-day workshop during the market for 40 content creators invited from several states across Brazil. The idea is simple. Creators learn how films get sold and shown. Film people learn how audiences find stories on phones.

The programme leans into that exchange. The official schedule lists a session titled ‘TikTok: What Does the Audience Want to See?’ from 13:00 to 14:00, while ScreenDaily reports panel discussions on what works on TikTok and on how women leaders are succeeding. TikTok partnerships staffer Yanaê Saldanha is listed among the speakers.

The setting is industrial. RioMarket takes place in a warehouse in Rio’s port area that was renovated for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The market’s site names the venue as Armazém da Utopia on Av. Rodrigues Alves in Santo Cristo.

Deal-making is getting more screen time. RioMarket held its first online one-on-one business meetings in 2025, short pre-arranged meetings where producers and potential partners talk through projects. It will expand that online system in 2026 after last year’s pilot.

Organisers also plan a soft launch of an app tentatively called Connecting Screens. The aim is to link the markets attached to film festivals around the world, so contacts and project information can travel beyond a single event.

RioMarket is a long-running operation. Its site says it has held 26 editions, hosted more than 11,000 one-to-one meetings and over 4,200 seminars and workshops, with more than 200 young people trained through its RioMarket Jovem programme.

The leadership includes Walkiria Barbosa, executive director of the Rio Film Festival and head of international marketing, and Luciana Galastri, head of entertainment partnerships at TikTok in Latin America.

What makes this stand out is the mix. Festival markets are usually closed shops for professionals. This year in Rio, short-video makers get a seat inside.

The wider festival runs alongside the market. Festival do Rio, now in its 28th edition, takes place Oct. 1 to Oct. 11, with its audience award set to be announced on Oct. 11.