Will Brazil’s National Cinema Agency (ANCINE) Cease Sponsoring Films?

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The spokesman for the Presidency, Otávio Rêgo Barros, said on Tuesday, July 23rd, that the government is considering removing the National Cinema Agency (ANCINE) from control over the Audiovisual Sectoral Fund (FSA).

According to the spokesman, the issue is under consideration by the legal area of the Palácio do Planalto.

“The issue is under study by the federal government’s legal counsel,” he said during an interview with journalists at the Palácio do Planalto. Should the change occur, the FSA may be passed on to the Special Secretariat for Culture, linked to the Ministry of Citizenship, which would be in charge of budgetary and financial implementation of the development fund, with a budget of R$724 million (US$181 million) this year.

In this case, ANCINE would no longer act as a development agency, focusing its activities only on market supervision and regulation areas.

The FSA, established by Law No. 11.437/2006, intended for the development of the whole production chain of audiovisual activity in Brazil.

The fund covers operations associated with various sectors, such as production, distribution, marketing, display, and service infrastructure, through investments, financing, support operations, and the balancing of financial burdens.

During a talk with journalists, Rêgo Barros also said that president Jair Bolsonaro does not want the government to support audiovisual works that infringe “traditional values”.

“The president will not censor ANCINE-sponsored films. However, the government will neither sponsor films that infringe ethical and moral traditional values of our society,” he said.