12nd Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival

At the “Festival do Rio — Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival” more than 350 films from 60 countries had been presented at over 30 cinemas across the city. It’s a festival with a warm and human atmosphere. As a “festival of festivals” it shows a lot of international highlights for a local audience. On the other side it offers a wide panorama of Latin American movies. Only in the “Premiere Brazil” section, over 80 films had been accepted; among them, nine long fiction films, eight feature-length documentaries and 21 shorts had entered the competition (and had therefore been eligible for prizes). Toniko Melo’s VIPs was the big winner and took four main awards: Best Film, Best Actor (Wagner Moura), Best Supporting Actor (Jorge d’Elia), and Best Supporting Actress (Gisele Fróes).

The Critics’ Prize went to the documentary Diary, Letters, Revolutions (Diário de uma busca) by Brazilian Flavia Castro, a “complex portrait of the life in exile of the filmmaker’s militant leftist father and her childhood, a portrait of a whole generation”, stated the jury. The film was also awarded “Best Documentary Award” of “Première Brazil”.

Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival: www.festivaldorio.com