Festival do Rio’s Première Brasil Closes Film Entries Today
BRAZIL · FILM
Key Facts
—The deadline: Entries for the Première Brasil showcase at Festival do Rio 2026 close today, June 1, via the festival’s official website.
—The showcase: Première Brasil is the country’s main competitive platform for Brazilian cinema, open to feature and short films in fiction, documentary and animation.
—The edition: This is the festival’s 28th edition; the event is billed as the largest film festival in Latin America, founded in 1999.
—The prize: Selected competitive films vie for the Redentor Trophy in the Main Competition and in the Novos Rumos strand for new voices.
—The scale: Last year’s edition set a record with more than 1,300 submissions, of which 131 were selected.
The window to enter Festival do Rio inscriptions for the 2026 Première Brasil showcase closes today, June 1, marking a key date on the Brazilian film calendar. The competitive platform, the centrepiece of Latin America’s largest film festival, draws hundreds of feature and short films each year and crowns its winners with the coveted Redentor Trophy.
What the Festival do Rio inscriptions cover
Filmmakers from across Brazil can submit their work to Première Brasil, considered the most important competitive showcase of Brazilian cinema, until the end of today. Entries are made exclusively through the festival’s official website, where the full regulations are also published.
Both feature and short films are eligible, across fiction, documentary and animation. Works must be finished in 2024 or 2025, made by majority-Brazilian production companies, and not yet commercially exploited on any platform in Brazil.
Why the Festival do Rio inscriptions matter
Première Brasil sits at the heart of the festival’s programme and functions as a plural panorama of contemporary national production, gathering different styles, generations and aesthetic approaches under one banner. Selected films may join either competitive or non-competitive strands.
Those chosen for competition contend for the Redentor Trophy in the Main Competition or in Novos Rumos, the strand dedicated to innovative languages and new voices in the audiovisual field. For nearly three decades, the showcase has been a meeting point for filmmakers, the public, industry professionals and critics.
The strands beyond the main competition
Alongside the competitive sections, the programme spans established strands carried over from previous years, including Hors-Concours, Midnight Movies, O Estado das Coisas, Geração and Retratos. These give the festival breadth beyond the prize race, accommodating documentary, genre and biographical work.
Première Brasil also emphasises audience-building, with screenings and open debates featuring cast and crew at popular ticket prices, alongside gala sessions for invited guests and the wider public.
A record-setting precedent
The previous edition broke submission records, drawing more than 1,300 films, of which 131 were selected: 79 features, 48 shorts and four series. The drama Pequenas Criaturas took the Redentor Trophy for best fiction feature, while Ato Noturno won in three categories.
That benchmark sets expectations high for the 2026 edition as today’s deadline closes the entry pool from which this year’s selection will be drawn.
A festival with three decades behind it
Festival do Rio was created in 1999 from the merger of two earlier Rio film festivals, and has grown into what organisers describe as the largest such event in Latin America. Its artistic direction has long championed the breadth of Brazilian filmmaking alongside an international programme.
With the entry deadline reached, the festival now moves toward selection ahead of its October dates, beginning the countdown to another edition in Rio de Janeiro.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do entries close?
Today, June 1, 2026, through the festival’s official website. Entry opened on April 16.
What films can enter?
Feature and short films in fiction, documentary and animation, finished in 2024 or 2025, by majority-Brazilian producers, not yet commercially released in Brazil.
What is the top prize?
The Redentor Trophy, awarded in the Main Competition and in the Novos Rumos strand for new and experimental work.
How big is the festival?
It is billed as Latin America’s largest film festival. Last year’s Première Brasil drew a record 1,300-plus submissions, with 131 films selected.
Connected Coverage
For more on the regional film calendar, see our coverage of the Rosario Latin American Film Festival.
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