Sao Paulo festival honours Projeto Paradiso founder Olga Rabinovich
Olga Rabinovich will receive the first Premio Encontros at the Sao Paulo International Film Festival's industry platform.
The Encounters Award will be presented during the opening gala ceremony on Oct. 14, as reported by Variety. It goes to the founder of Projeto Paradiso, the support programme for Brazilian filmmakers.
The prize was created to spotlight the transformative role of private investment in culture. Festival director Renata de Almeida said Rabinovich was chosen as the first recipient because she was the inspiration behind the award. The honour puts philanthropy centre stage at the Encontro de Ideias Audiovisuais, the festival's meeting place for filmmakers, funders and distributors.
She was born in Sao Paulo. She founded the Olga Rabinovich Institute in 2018 and launched Projeto Paradiso soon after. The institute itself was announced during the 42nd Mostra, the local name for the Sao Paulo festival.
Projeto Paradiso offers training, grants and international connections for Brazilian talent. Its Talent Network counts 278 Brazilian professionals. It works with more than 250 partner organisations, including the Hubert Bals Fund, La Fabrique Cinema de l'Institut francais, TorinoFilmLab, Film Independent and the Sundance Institute, which run labs and development schemes for emerging directors.
Among the films it has supported is Allan Deberton's Gugu's World, a winner at the Berlin Film Festival. That credit gives a clear sense of the programme's reach. It helps local stories travel to major international selections.
The industry programme will also include an in-conversation event with Neon president Jeff Deutchman. Neon is a leading buyer of independent and international films for release in the United States. His appearance adds a distribution voice to a line-up focused on how films get financed and sold.
Earlier this year, Projeto Paradiso brought its Talent Network together for a national meeting in Recife, building on buzz around 'The Secret Agent', as reported by Variety. It has also partnered with the Next Step programme run by Semaine de la Critique, which supports first and second features.
What makes this stand out is the focus on the money behind the camera. Festivals often honour directors and actors. Here the spotlight falls on the funder who helps them travel.
