RioFilme Opens $20 Million Fund for Film and TV
Rio de Janeiro's film agency will open a R$100 million ($20 million) call for film and television projects, president Leonardo Edde told Variety.
RioFilme will unveil the package on Oct. 1, on the first day of RioMarket, the business section of the Rio International Film Festival. Applications open the next day, on Oct. 2.
The package is described as the company's largest this year. It is split across six funding lines covering production, development, distribution and international co-production.
The main line is for cinema. At least 20 fiction and animation features will share $10.4 million.
Television and streaming are covered too. At least three live-action and animated series will share $2 million, while at least 12 documentaries made for cinemas, TV or streaming will share $2.4 million.
A further $1 million will support development, spread across 20 projects for cinema, TV and streaming. Distribution gets $1.2 million for at least 12 feature films, to help local releases reach screens.
The new element is international. A $3 million line will back at least four fiction and animated features made as co-productions with partners outside Brazil, meaning films financed and produced by companies in more than one country.
For the first five lines, the lead producer must be a company based in Rio. The co-production line is more flexible, and can also support projects where a Rio company holds a minority stake.
Selection will take place in the fourth quarter of 2026, with money available in early 2027, according to Variety. The cash comes from the Fundo Setorial do Audiovisual, Brazil's national audiovisual fund, under an agreement between RioFilme and Ancine, the federal agency that manages the fund.
RioFilme ran a $20 million call last year, but without a dedicated line for international co-productions. Under the deal with Ancine, RioFilme had to add one-third of the federal investment from its own side, which it met with two incentive programmes this year totalling $6.6 million.
What makes this stand out for producers is timing. Rio hosted 40 international shoots in the first half of 2026, up from 28 in the same period last year, according to Variety. The new fund gives local companies more ways to develop, shoot and release at home, or to join forces with partners abroad.
