At a press conference here in Cannes, the organizers behind the Hollywood Brazilian Film Festival announced they are rebranding and will henceforth be known as the Brazilian Audiovisual Organization (BRAVO).
As part of the rebrand, BRAVO also welcomes two new executive directors, Juliana Sakae, a producer at Muritiba Filmes, who will serve as associate director and director of the organization’s Forum and FYC (For Your Consideration) night, and Thiago Macêdo Correia, producer at Filmes de Plástico, who will be the Festival’s creative director. The festival’s talent lab, now to be known as the BRAVO Film Lab, which mentors young Brazilian filmmakers, remains under the supervision of Talize Sayegh.
“BRAVO was born from the desire to show the true scope of our team’s work beyond film screenings,” Sayegh said in a statement. “We are already an organization that thinks about the future of Brazilian audiovisual, that invests in new voices, and promotes dialogue inside and outside of Brazil. But our name didn’t reflect all of this work.”
The organization has longstanding partnerships with American Cinematheque, the Brazilian Consulate in Los Angeles, Cinema do Brasil, and Projeto Paradiso, and will open its 2025 edition at the Academy Museum. The festival traditionally screens Brazil’s submission for the Best International Oscar as its opening title — last year, that was Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here.
“BRAVO has become an important platform for Oscar campaigns of Brazilian films,” Sakae said. “Every year, we have the honor of opening the festival with Brazil’s official submission for Best International Feature at the prestigious Academy Museum, which boasts one of the most advanced image and sound systems in the world. We also host the FYC (For Your Consideration) night, dedicated to Brazilian films qualified in other categories, at the historic Linwood Dunn Theater, home to the film reels of some of the world’s greatest cinematic works.”
BRAVO runs across LA in November.
