Rio's Pipa Pictures Opens a U.S. Base and Starts Co-Producing
Rio de Janeiro-based Pipa Pictures is setting up a base in the United States and moving into co-production, meaning it will make films jointly with partner companies that share the costs and the credit. The plans were laid out by chief executive Alex Levy-Heller in Variety, published on 12 November 2026.
The company's first two projects are being developed with two filmmakers. One is Daniel Dreifuss, a Los Angeles-based producer whose credits include All Quiet on the Western Front. The other is Felipe Joffily, a Brazilian director.
Dreifuss has come on board Bloodstained Swan, which the report describes as a historical thriller inspired by real events. The Portuguese title is Cisne manchado de sangue, and Bloodstained Swan is a working title, meaning a placeholder that may change before release. Levy-Heller is co-writing the script and will direct it herself.
The story is set in the 1960s and moves between Rio de Janeiro, Goias, Sao Paulo and Montevideo in Uruguay. It follows Herbert Cukurs, a Latvian immigrant who introduced swan-shaped pedal boats to the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon in Rio. Cukurs was later identified as the Butcher of Riga, a reference to the Latvian capital during the Second World War.
The film will be produced by Brazil's Alelo Filmes and Dreifuss's Anima Pictures, with Pipa Pictures co-producing. Co-producing means Pipa shares the making of the film with those companies, rather than owning it alone.
Joffily is set to direct Pan-American Soul, a road movie also known by its Portuguese title, Alma Panamericana. Brazil's Downtown Filmes will handle its distribution, which means it will take the film to cinemas and other outlets in Brazil.
No broadcast date, budget or release window for either project was given. Pipa's U.S. base is still in the set-up phase.
For a company that is still building its international footprint, the mix is notable. It pairs a Brazilian director with a Los Angeles producer, and a historical drama with a road movie. Each project will need its own team of writers, crew and financiers before anything reaches a screen.
