By Jay Forte, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Steve Solot of the Latin American Training Center (LATC) is partnering with The Rio Times, Viva Films and XperienceRio to host the Rio Film MixUp, on Wednesday, March 23rd, in Leblon. The event is a chance for filmmakers in Rio de Janeiro to come together, connect and talk about the art and industry.
Solot, who is also the president of the Rio Film Commission, explains how the LATC was formed, “I founded LATC in Rio in 2008 when the U.S. studios decided to close the MPAA Latin American regional operations which I headed in São Paulo. [Then when] I returned to Rio, and I was hired by the Secretaries of Culture of both city and state of Rio to run the Rio Film Commission, at the same time I founded LATC.”
Solot shares his thoughts on the film and video industry in Brazil, “Despite the general economic recession, the audiovisual industry in Brazil and in Rio is holding its own. The Pay-TV sector especially is booming, thanks to Law 12.485 which created the local content quotas on prime-time, and thus a huge demand for independent TV producers to provide that content, so that the foreign channels can fulfill the quotas.”
To keep pace with the growing demand, the Rio Film Commission and LATC are working on some major projects this year. “In January I signed an MOU [memorandum of understanding] with the Miami-Dade County Office of Film and Entertainment, as part of the Rio Film Commission international strategy.” tells Mr. Solot. “Also, as founder and Executive Director of the Brazilian Film Commission Network – REBRAFIC, I am negotiating MOU’s with South Africa and New Zealand, similar to the one I signed last week with the UK Film and TV Producer Association-PACT.”
In addition to these agreements, last week in Miami, the LATC announced a new U.S.-Latin America Screenplay Treatment Competition, with strategic partners on the jury. LATC also recently signed an MOU with FilmGate Interactive in Miami, as part of a series of training initiatives in that city this year.
The LATC has also programmed two new publications this year: “A Guide for Film Commissions in Latin America” (in Spanish) and “Women in the Brazilian Audiovisual Industry” (bilingual). In April Mr. Solot will be a speaker on Latin American film finance at the AFCI Locations and Global Finance Show in Los Angeles.
Editor and publisher of The Rio Times, Stone Korshak, explains how the Rio Film MixUp event took shape with Mr. Solot. “We’ve been following Mr. Solot’s efforts since my arrival in 2009, and have wanted to do more to support filmmaking in Rio as well. After bumping into him at an event last year we have been discussing some kind of collaboration, and this MixUp format seemed to work well for everyone.”
The Rio Film MixUp event will be hosted at La Calaca, a gourmet Mexican eatery in Leblon, with a drink promotion of 2-for-1 glasses of sangria and bottles of Sol and Budweiser, from 7-8PM and 10PM to Midnight. Make sure to RSVP on the Facebook page so the venue can plan accordingly.
Also, all are welcome to post their short film video projects on the event page, or teasers for longer format films, look-books for actors and shooter or editor reels.
What: Rio Film MixUp @ La Calaca
When: 7PM-Midnight, Wednesday, March 23rd
Where: La Calaca, Avenida Ataulfo de Paiva, 1240, Loja B, Leblon, RJ
Entrance: FREE