Gramado festival to honor Selton Mello and Maria Fernanda Cândido

Brazil’s Gramado Film Festival is putting two of the country’s most visible screen exports at center stage this August: Selton Mello and Maria Fernanda Cândido.

Variety reports that Mello, co-lead of “I’m Still Here,” and Cândido, a standout in “The Secret Agent,” will be honored at the 54th edition of the festival, which runs Aug. 12 to 22 in the mountain resort town of Gramado, in Rio Grande do Sul.

The festival will open with the world premiere of “Antártida,” a Globo-produced thriller set at a Brazilian base in the South Pole. Bruno Safadi directs, with a screenplay by Claudia Jouvin, who was lead writer on Globoplay’s 2025 hit “Perfect Days,” according to Variety.

“Antártida” stars Andrea Beltrão, Marina Ruy Barbosa, Leandra Leal, Antonio Calloni, Lázaro Ramos and João Vitor Silva. Variety reports that the film follows Inês after she is assaulted at the Antarctic base, where scientists and military personnel are stationed, leaving the men there under suspicion as deputy commander Elisabeth investigates.

The film was shot at Globo’s studios in Rio de Janeiro using technology to recreate Antarctic sequences. Paris Filmes is set to release it in Brazilian theaters on Sept. 17.

Six films chase the main Kikito

Six Brazilian features will compete for Gramado’s main Kikito prize, with five arriving as world premieres, according to Variety. The lineup includes “Chorão: Só os Loucos Sabem,” “Justino – Nos Bastidores do Reino,” “Leite em Pó,” “Nosso Segredo,” “Pele de Rinoceronte” and “Gugu’s World,” also titled “Feito Pipa.”

“Gugu’s World,” directed by Allan Deberton, has already picked up momentum abroad after winning best film at Berlin’s Generation KPlus this year. The film centers on a boy raised by his grandmother who dreams of becoming a soccer player and fears being sent back to live with his father.

The documentary race features four titles: “Afrontosa,” “Empeleitada,” “Gonzaguinha, da Maior Liberdade” and “O Projeto,” Variety reports.

The festival will close with “La Perra,” from Chilean filmmaker Dominga Sotomayor. The film screened at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight and was co-produced by Brazilian company RT Features.

Globo brings a Berlin-backed series home

Gramado will also host the Brazilian premiere of the first episode of “Emergência 53,” a Conspiração production for Globoplay from Andrucha Waddington and Cláudio Torres, both linked to Globo’s medical drama “Under Pressure,” according to Variety.

The mobile emergency medical unit procedural won the first Studio Babelsberg Production Excellence Award at the Berlinale Series Market, an honor for projects combining creative ambition with international potential.

Variety reports that Ana Flavia Cavalcanti, Camila Morgado and film critic Marcos Santuario curated this year’s festival selection.

More honors in Gramado

Mello began as a child actor in a Globo telenovela before leading multiple Brazilian films. Variety notes that he played Rubens Paiva in “I’m Still Here,” described by the outlet as the first Portuguese-language Brazilian feature to win an Academy Award, and also directed “The Clown” and “The Movie of My Life.”

Cândido’s international credits include Marco Bellocchio’s “The Traitor,” “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” and “The Secret Agent,” which Variety says earned four Oscar nominations, a Brazilian record.

Other honorees include Brazilian Film Academy president and producer Renata Almeida Magalhães, who will receive the Eduardo Abelin Trophy; Andrea Beltrão, who will receive the Oscarito Trophy; and actor, writer and director Marcos Caruso, who will receive the City of Gramado Trophy.

The festival is organized by Gramadotur, Gramado Town Hall’s tourism and culture authority. Rosa Helena Volk, president of Gramadotur, said all feature films in this year’s competitive sections will include audio description, Brazilian Sign Language interpretation and subtitles, according to Variety.

This story draws on original reporting from Variety.