Theme “Brazil: Window to the World” sets the tone for debates on the country’s expanding role in the global audiovisual landscape.

Brazil’s audiovisual industry is living through one of its most promising moments in decades, and the challenge now is clear: turning prestige into market structure. Since Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here” took the Venice Film Festival by storm in 2024, Brazil has re-entered the global cinema radar as both a creative and industrial force. The film’s Oscar win for Best International Feature reignited worldwide interest in Brazilian storytelling and reaffirmed local content as a strategic economic asset.

For insiders, the success is no surprise. Consistent production since the 1990s, backed by revived public policies and technical maturity, built a strong foundation for growth. But the current scenario — with Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent” already tipped as a 2026 Oscar contender — and now set for  North American release  through NEON — the question becomes how to sustain this rise beyond isolated titles and establish a steady flow of competitive global releases.

That’s where Expocine 2025, Latin America’s largest film industry convention, comes in. Its 12th edition gathered more than 25 exhibitors, 23 sponsors, 14 distributors and over 40 hours of programming, cementing São Paulo as South America’s key hub for film industry dialogue. But beyond the statistics, what defined the event was a single theme: Brazil’s repositioning in the international market — and the strategies required to turn visibility into sustainable commercial expansion.

Marcelo Lima, founder of Expocine, said the turnout underscored the event’s expanding influence:  “We welcomed over 2,300 participants, packed discussion panels and saw many business deals sealed on the trade show floor — in both service and content acquisition. It’s a reflection of how much the industry has grown across Latin America, especially in Brazil. For next year, our focus is to get even closer to our South American neighbors, as international companies are showing great interest in taking part.”

From “Brazil — Window to the World” to Global Strategy
The opening panel, “Brazil — Window to the World,” set the tone for this year’s event, gathering key figures like Daniela Fernandes (Directorate of Audiovisual Preservation and Dissemination, Ministry of Culture), Marcelo Lima (Expocine), Marília Marton (Secretary of Culture, Economy and Creative Industry, São Paulo State Government) and Rodrigo Massi (Secretary of Culture and Creative Economy, São Paulo’s Department of Culture). The discussion centered on how Brazil can export audiovisual content consistently, with product, structure and strategic communication — not just prestige from a handful of festival darlings.

Speakers agreed that while the country enjoys a wave of global recognition, it must now focus on building a long-term internationalization plan, including co-productions, cross-border distribution deals and targeted incentives. Brazil has the “window,” they noted. But it needs to make it a permanent showcase.

Drawing from recent visits to Asian markets like South Korea, China and Japan, Marton noted a key common factor among them: a national “pact” between government and industry. “The audiovisual sector is a major industry that generates jobs and directly impacts people’s lives. We need to establish that same pact here, between government levels and the many layers of the production chain. It’s a collective effort involving everyone, not just producers, exhibitors or distributors.”

Fernandes emphasized the need for a unified “Brand Brazil” in audiovisual exports: “We already have a strong creative identity. We’re at the major festivals, we’re winning awards. But Brazil needs to present itself as one brand — the Brazilian audiovisual. That makes a difference. That’s what Korea did.” Although “The Secret Agent” has captured most of the attention, it’s worth noting that another Brazilian film won the Silver Bear at the 2025 Berlinale, which was “The Last Trail,” directed by filmmaker Gabriel Mascaro.

She also added that a strong market identity is essential for commercial expansion abroad. “Awards are important, of course. But our content also needs to be profitable, beyond the festival circuit. That’s what builds relevance; not just making films while thinking about how to fund the next one.”

Accessibility Becomes a Market Opportunity
For the first time, accessibility was treated not as policy, but as business. With simultaneous translation, subtitles in Portuguese, English and Spanish, and sign language interpretation in every panel, Expocine demonstrated that inclusion is also a way to expand audience reach.

Marcella Fazzio, director of MAV Accessible Communication without Barriers (a global accessibility company), summed it up during the session “Screen Without Barriers: True Accessibility in Audiovisual”: “Accessibility isn’t just compliance. It’s an opportunity to grow audiences, enrich experiences, and make the audiovisual ecosystem more representative and diverse.”

Executives and distributors agreed: while many productions already include accessibility tools, few promote them properly — a communication gap that limits market potential and audience growth.

The Majors’ Big Decisions
Another highlight was the panel “The Majors’ Big Decisions for the Next 10 Years,” featuring Hernán Viviano (VP Latin America, Warner Bros. Pictures), Cesar Silva (Vice President & Managing Director Brasil, Paramount Pictures) and Marcio Fraccaroli (CEO, Paris Filmes). The executives discussed how global studios are reshaping their long-term strategies and how these shifts affect regional markets like Brazil.

Viviano and Silva noted that while franchises still dominate top-grossing titles (superhero and adventure films) but the real surprise lies between box office ranks 20 and 100. “Those mid-range films have become the most unpredictable in recent years,” said Viviano.

Silva added that while franchises still drive the market, original narratives face marketing challenges that require new approaches. He also emphasized that the theatrical experience remains essential for keeping audiences engaged and that’s not going to change in future years.

Echoing other panels at Expocine, Fraccaroli pointed out that Brazilian film funding must also support distribution and marketing efforts. “Without support for circulation, films die before they reach their audience,” he said.

Gen Z and the New Consumption Logic
A separate session focused on Generation Z’s movie habits — an increasingly central theme in content strategy. Director Daniel Rezende (who is also the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning editor of Fernando Meirelles’ “City of God”) stressed the importance of understanding audience data without letting it dictate creativity. The discussion also featured Rafael Dias (CEO, Dia TV) and Daniel Spinelli (Data & Insight Director, Warner Bros. Discovery).

“It’s great to understand what Gen Z is watching — but we can’t let that limit our creative process,” Rezende said. “Otherwise we just replicate numbers. We stop provoking thought, we stop surprising audiences. If we manage to speak to all kinds of viewers, including Gen Z, we can make room for multiple formats, from films and TV shows, to edits and social media stories.”

Rezende cited his own 2017 film “Bingo: The King of the Mornings,” which recently found new life online after a clip went viral on TikTok — a reminder that new audiences are born digital, and that creative adaptation is key to keeping cinema relevant.

The Streaming Regulation Debate
The future of streaming regulation in Brazil took center stage in the panel “From Framework to Action: What VOD Regulation Can (or Can’t) Transform.” As viewing habits shift heavily to platforms like Netflix, Amazon and Disney+, the country faces pressure to update laws that no longer reflect audience behavior — and to ensure that global players contribute to the national Audiovisual Sector Fund (FSA).

Moderated by Gabriel Portella, and audiovisual industry public policy expert, the debate brought together Paulo Schmitt (Director, SIAESP), Leonardo Edde (President, RioFilme) and Marcos Barros (Chairman, Cinesystems and President, ABRAPLEX). The consensus: VOD regulation is inevitable and Brazil must decide whether it wants to be a protagonist in the new audiovisual economy or merely a consumer of foreign content.

Schmitt advocated for a balanced model that generates resources without driving platforms away. He cited projections showing that a 3% tax on streaming revenues could double the FSA budget, while 6% could quadruple it. The goal, he said, “is to ensure that what’s collected translates into jobs, innovation and support for independent producers.”

Edde added that the challenge is structural: “We need to build an ecosystem similar to France, Korea or Canada — where audiovisual is treated as a strategic industry. Without regulation, Brazil will remain just a consumer.”

Representing exhibitors, Barros warned that the theatrical circuit is the weakest link in the chain. Brazil has only one cinema screen per 60,000 inhabitants (compared to Mexico’s one per 12,000), and an average frequency of less than one visit per person per year, though the number of screens has grown by at least 100 over the past two years. “Weak theaters mean a weak industry,” he said, urging for incentives to expand the number of screens in mid-sized cities and educational initiatives to rebuild moviegoing culture.

Beyond Celebration: A Turning Point
Expocine 2025 made one thing very clear: Brazil’s moment is not just celebratory, it’s a major turning point. The challenge now is to build a sustainable film industry with global reach, robust technical infrastructure and creative ambition that speaks both to the country and the world. If Brazil truly wants to be a “window to the world,” it must act like one — with strategy, structure, communication and boldness.