Brazilian’s most ambitious dream: turn Rio into “The Movie City”

The residents of Rio de Janeiro, with the support of their mayor’s office, are trying to make a very ambitious dream come true: turn their celebrated town into The City of Brazilian Cinema. This is the only municipality in the country that stimulates and pours funds into the development of moviemaking.

To pull off this effort, local authorities have earmarked $3.5 million that will be added to a similar megabuck figure funneled by the Act of Fiscal Stimulation.

It’s worth keeping in mind that the core of Brazil’s filmmaking industry is hubbed in Rio de Janeiro, as well as the headquarters of Riofilme, the country’s biggest distributor of homemade movies.

As The City of Cinema, Rio de Janeiro will not only be the heart of the nation’s moviemaking industry, but also a think tank posting technical workshops, research studies, movie theaters and everything linked to the big screen.

The City Hall will also take the reins of the Rio Movie Festival, an event that’s been endangered ever since state-run company Petrobras said it will no longer sponsor the show.