Cannes Docs

Runtime: 80'

Expected release: May 2026

Production stage: Post-production, animation and editing

Budget: €332,000 (55% in place)

1st feature: Yes

Looking for: Sales agents, gap financing, festivals, strategic guidance

Synopsis:

Anna Borges do Sacramento was an enslaved woman who fought for her freedom in 18th century Brazil. Her story, forgotten in a file gnawed by insects, is now unarchived through the imagination and ancestral knowledge of a group of quilombola women. As they reflect on her struggle, they weave their own experiences, forging a strong connection between past and present, a powerful portrait of Anna and themselves

Director’s Profile:

Aída Bueno Sarduy is a PhD in Social and Cultural Anthropology by the Complutense University of Madrid. She’s carried out research in Cuba and Brazil on African religions from the perspective of feminist critical theory. She specialized in African diasporic culture and interethnic relationships in Latin America, and studies purchases, freedom letters and freedom purchase documents of African and afro-descendant women in Brazil in the 18th and 19th centuries. She’s been a lecturer in universities such as New York University, Middlebury College and Stanford. She directed the documentary shorts “1939 Days” (2015) and “Guillermina” (2019), screened in festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand, FIPADOC and SANFICI, as well as the documentary feature films “Rezadeira”, now at the production stage and “Anna Borges do Sacramento”, in post-production, awarded by the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund.

Producer’s Profile:

Rafael Sampaio is a Brazilian producer and curator, founder of Klaxon Cultural Audiovisual, production company based in São Paulo, since 2008. At Klaxon he has produced the documentaries “Let it Burn” (Brazil, Maíra Buhler, 2019, Prix des bibliothèques at Cinéma du Réel, 2019), “A Marriage” (Brazil, Mônica Simões, Brazil, 2017) and has produced or co-produced the features “Fever” (Chile/Brasil/Peru, Elisa Eliash, 2022) “Zafari” (Peru/Chile/Brasil/França, Mariana Rondón, 2024), “On Wheels” (Brazil, Mauro D’Addio, 2018), “Contactado” (Marité Ugás, 2021), among others. He worked as producer and programmer in cultural venues such as MIS-SP, Cinemateca Brasileira and cooperated with different national and international funds. He also is the head of studies for different training initiatives, such as the BrLab, an annual training and meeting event which he created and has directed since 2011.

Runtime: 90'

Expected release: January 2026

Production stage: Editing

Budget: €160,000 (100% in place)

1st feature: No

Looking for: Festival programmers and international distributors, buyers, strategic guidance

Synopsis:

Suzy is a trans black woman from Campinas, the last Brazilian city to abolish slavery. She runs a shelter for vulnerable trans people, works in the public health service, does religious rituals, looks after her family and now she faces a new challenge: running for councillor. Through an intimate portrait, the film explores the joys and struggles of doing politics in a country resistant to dissident bodies.

Director’s Profile:

Coraci Ruiz has been a documentary filmmaker since 2003, when she took part in founding the production company Cisco Lab, which specialises in themes related to human rights and the environment. Her work includes the features “Letters to Angola” (awarded in Brazil, Angola, Portugal and Belgium), “Threshold” (more than eighty festivals and twenty-two awards in Brazil and abroad) and “Blooming on the Asphalt” (fifteen awards in Brazil and abroad). She has also directed a number of short films and series, including “Brazilian Sonorities: Women’s Lyrics” (winner of the TAL TV 2024 Award in the Music Content category). She is currently working on the feature films “Defiant” and “Mirante: send me news from over there”. She has a degree in Dance, a Master’s in Audiovisual Culture and Media, a PhD in Multimedia, all at Unicamp.

Producer’s Profile:

Julio Matos has been a director and producer since 2003, when he took part in founding the production company Cisco Lab, which specialises in themes related to human rights and the environment. His work includes the features “Letters to Angola” (awarded in Brazil, Angola, Portugal and Belgium) and “Blooming on the Asphalt” (fifteen awards in Brazil and abroad); and the short “Mute Utopia”, screened and awarded at important festivals such as It’s All True (Editing Award) and Biarritz Amérique Latine (Special Mention). He has a degree in Sociology from Unicamp and a master’s degree in Social Communication from Goldsmiths University of London.

Runtime: 94'

Expected release: October 2025

Production stage: Post-production

Budget: €417,493.50 (85% in place)

1st feature: No

Looking for: Strengthen the film's presence in the international market, secure a deal with a sales agent, ensure distribution across multiple territories, explore its potential on VOD platforms and facilitate premieres at festivals

Synopsis:

Ana Paula (42) and Mariana (25) are prison officers working in facilities far from their roots. While Mariana seeks professional advancement, Ana Paula longs to return to São Paulo. On Christmas, both face dilemmas about their future and sense of belonging, forcing them to reevaluate their paths and choices.

Director’s Profile:

Julia Hannud is an auteur documentary director and the founder of UMA FILMES. She directed the short film “Amor, Só de Mãe” (2018), which was shortlisted for the Student BAFTA, and the feature film “Saudade Mundão” (2020), which premiered at FESTin Lisbon and explores the lives of women in prison. The film is available on digital platforms. She also directed the short film “Bacuranao,” produced during her master’s in documentary filmmaking at EICTV in Cuba, and is currently in the final stages of post-production. She is in the final stages of post-production for her upcoming feature film, “Carceiras.” The film has participated in various labs, including Campus Latino at the Goethe Institut (Mexico, Chile, Colombia), Nuevas Miradas (Cuba), SANFIC in Chile, and FULGOR LAB in Spain. Julia holds a master’s degree in creative documentary filmmaking from Pompeu Fabra University in Spain.

Producer’s Profile:

Sabrina Zimmermann is a creative producer with experience in audiovisual projects in Brazil and Spain. She has produced award-winning short films, such as “El Hacedor de Muebles” (2019), shown at the Locarno; “En la Boca de la Mina” (2019), winner of the GZ Award at CORTOCIRCUITO; and “A Comuñón de Mi Prima Andrea” (2021), awarded at the 52nd Visions du Réel, shortlisted for the Goya Awards, and nominated for the Mestre Mateo awards. She is a partner at Filmes de Pedra, an independent production company based in Galicia. In Brazil, she is a partner at Zimmermann Filmes. Sabrina produced her first feature film, “Queremo Róque!” (2021), a milestone for Chapecó, which was shown at In-Edit Brasil. She is currently in post-production on “Carcereiras,” directed by Julia Hannud. She is also developing “Cortejo dos Mortos” by Dario Aldana. Sabrina holds a degree in Production from EICTV – Cuba.

Runtime: 90'

Expected release: February 2026

Production stage: Post-production

Budget: €597,000 (17% in place)

1st feature: Yes

Looking for: Gap financing, international co-producers, buyer, sales agents / distributors, strategic guidance.

Synopsis:

Célia Tupinambá, an Indigenous artist and leader, travels across European museums to access and document the eleven sacred Tupinambá cloaks, taken during colonization. Away from her village, she leads the movement for the return of these ancestors capable of healing the land. An impact documentary that delves into the cosmogony and cosmoagony behind the largest restitution in Brazilian history.

Director’s Profile:

Robson Dias is a Brazilian director, editor, and documentary filmmaker based in Marseille. He holds a Master’s in Documentary Directing from Aix-Marseille Université and a Cinema degree from PUC-Rio. His debut short “Pra Inglês Ver” won an award at the Gramado Film Festival. He directed the second unit of “Surfing West Africa” (Canal OFF) and co-wrote and edited the feature “Kabadio” before relocating to Europe. He trained at CLCF École de Cinéma in Paris and has worked for the past ten years across France, Germany, and Italy. A participant in the Warner Bros. Discovery accelerator program, he directed “Favela Turística”, now streaming on MAX and airing on TLC and TNT. He recently spoke at Rio2C and remains active on the international film circuit.

Co-director’s Profile:

Célia Tupinambá is an artist, anthropologist, activist, filmmaker, and leader of the village in Serra do Padeiro, located in the Tupinambá de Olivença Indigenous Territory in southern Bahia. Célia holds a degree in Intercultural Indigenous Education from the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Bahia (IFBA), and a master’s degree in Anthropology from the National Museum/Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She co-directed the documentary “Voice of Indigenous Women” (2015) alongside Cristiane Julião Pankararu and Alexandre Pankararu. She is a representative at UN Women, the United Nations entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women. After holding solo exhibitions in prominent venues, galleries, and institutions, in 2024 she became the first Indigenous artist to represent Brazil at the Venice Biennale, with the exhibition “Ka’a Pûera: We Are Birds That Walk.”

Producer’s Profile:

Myrza Muniz is a Brazilian director, writer, and producer based in Rio de Janeiro. She began her career in advertising, with a master’s specialization at ESCP Paris and working at Publicis Group Paris. She later transitioned to cinema, earning a degree from the Darcy Ribeiro Film School in Rio and participating in renowned labs by Globo and Netflix. Myrza creates both fiction and non-fiction series and feature films for platforms such as Amazon Studios and GloboPlay. She has collaborated on award-winning short films, including “Agora” (Grand Prize at the Short to the Point International Film Festival), the fiction short “Bença” (winner of the Prix Courtoujours at the Toulouse Festival), and the feature documentary “Recognized”, which premiered at the 2025 edition of the É Tudo Verdade festival. She has led Selvática Filmes, a BIPOC-led production company, since 2017.