Rio festival closes as Brazil heads to election run-off
Politics shared the screen at the Rio Film Festival, which ran Oct. 1-11 and closed just as Brazil headed toward a presidential run-off, according to Variety.
The 28th edition, known locally as Festival do Rio, opened with Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi's "La Bola Negra" and closed with Jordan Firstman's "Club Kid," Variety reported. Screenings played across cinemas in Rio de Janeiro, with industry business handled alongside in RioMarket, the festival's market sidebar for buyers, sellers and film-makers.
The national line-up mixed festival-travelled titles with awards contenders. Gabriel Martins's Toronto-selected "On Behalf of My Son" screened alongside Allan Deberton's "Gugu's World," described as an Oscar hopeful, according to Variety. The programme also included Enock Carvalho and Mateus Farias's Locarno winner "The Riverbank" and Victor di Marco and Marcio Picoli's "London," winner of the Queer Lion prize at Venice for LGBTQ-themed work.
The first weekend of the festival coincided with the first round of Brazil's presidential elections. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva lost that round to far-right candidate Flavio Bolsonaro by less than 2%, with a second round scheduled for Oct. 25, according to Variety.
Film-makers responded directly. Kleber Mendonca Filho, Wagner Moura, Fernando Meirelles and Petra Costa signed an open letter calling international attention to the second round, Variety reported. On the closing night, "Club Kid" director Jordan Firstman raised his hand in an "L" sign while introducing the film at the Odeon on Saturday night.
Domestic audiences were a central talking point. Brazil has more than 214 million people but only 3,538 cinema screens, with 43% of them concentrated in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, according to Variety. Festival director Ilda Santiago has pushed for wider circulation of Brazilian films beyond the two largest cities.
Last year the festival's busiest screening belonged to Mendonca Filho's "The Secret Agent," which went on to an Oscar campaign. This year Variety summed up the 2026 event in a roundup titled 'Tense Presidential Elections, a Focus on Domestic Audiences and Oscars Closer Than Ever: 10 Takeaways From the Rio Film Festival.'
What makes this stand out for regular cinemagoers is the timing. A major festival usually sells escape. In Rio this year, the schedule, the guest list and the vote were running side by side.
