This Wednesday morning, the main auditorium of Rio2C, the largest creativity event in Latin America, was the stage for various Brazilian stories that Netflix has been preparing for its fans. The panel kicked off with a lively rap battle to set the tone for Nova Cena, Netflix’s new Brazilian musical reality show. Among the highlights presented by actors Juliana Paes and Christian Malheiros were the pre-production of Caramelo, the first Brazilian film with a dog as the protagonist – the iconic “caramelo,” a symbol of Brazilian culture – and the adaptations of the books The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho and Pssica by Pará writer Edyr Augusto.
With production by Andrea Barata Ribeiro from O2 Filmes and direction by Fernando Meirelles and Quico Meirelles, the new miniseries based on the book Pssica will soon begin production in Pará. It follows the stories of Janalice, Preá, and Mariangel. Filled with drama, action, and violence, the lives of these three strangers collide as they navigate the rivers of the Amazon basin. Janalice is kidnapped by human traffickers, Preá must come to terms with his destiny as the leader of a gang of “river rats,” and Mariangel embarks on a mission to avenge her family’s murder. The three will try to survive the “pssica” (curse) they believe has been cast upon them.
New films are also coming to Netflix with gripping (and tear-jerking) stories. Caramelo, from Migdal Filmes and directed by Diego Freitas, will follow the touching story of a friendly “caramelo” mutt – and its star is already in training. During the panel, the audience got an exclusive sneak peek at the training sessions of this first canine protagonist of a Brazilian feature film. For book lovers, Paulo Coelho recorded a message: the adaptation of his bestseller, The Pilgrimage, is coming, with filming taking place in Brazil and Spain. On stage, Netflix Brazil’s film director Gabriel Gurman spoke about the future: “Looking ahead, we are developing several projects, always aiming to be creative and bold, with stories that truly surprise, and working with various production companies. There’s a lot of different content coming.”
In addition to paying tribute to Sintonia, Netflix’s most-watched original Brazilian series, the panel also unveiled, for the first time, the trailer for Netflix’s first Brazilian melodrama series, Desperate Lies. Its lead actress, Juliana Paes, excitedly announced the release date: July 5th. The story follows Liana, a woman who dreams of becoming a mother and whose path is disrupted by events of great dramatic force: the infidelity of her husband Thomás (Vladimir Brichta) and a pregnancy with twins from different fathers, a scientific rarity. Determined to keep the situation a secret, Liana finds herself amidst a turmoil of emotions, unsure if she will be able to love both children equally and maintain her family relationships.
Creator and director Luis Lomenha took the stage to reveal the young protagonists of the fictional miniseries about the tragic night known as the Candelária Massacre. The Four from Candelária follows the 36 hours leading up to the tragedy from the perspective of four children, played by Andrei Marques, Samuel Silva, Patrick Congo, and Wendy Queiroz. “This series talks about Black masculinity, interrupted dreams, and children whom society did not see as such. I wanted to find a way to tell this tragic, pure, and incredibly realistic story, and we decided to do it through the dreams of these four boys, interrupted that night,” said the director on the Rio2C stage.
The panel concluded with a discussion about the miniseries Senna, about the legendary driver Ayrton Senna. Producers Fabiano Gullane and Caio Gullane, actor Gabriel Leone, and Haná Vaisman, Netflix Brazil’s director of scripted series, shared behind-the-scenes details and emphasized how the passion of everyone involved in the production was crucial to portraying one of the country’s greatest icons. “Nothing surpasses the combination of passion, dedication, and competence, which resulted in an artistic mastery and level of quality that gave us great confidence in the project,” said Haná Vaisman. Fabiano Gullane praised the Brazilian professionals involved in the production: “We had teams from all over the world — the United States, Europe, Canada — but the heads of the teams were all Brazilian. This is a great achievement and a great source of pride.”
From Senna to Nova Cena, there are many new releases coming in 2024 — only on Netflix.