Next Step is delighted to invite a Brazilian filmmaker for its 12th edition in association with Projeto Paradiso, a foundation supported by the Olga Rabinovich Institute, which champions talents in the Brazilian film and audiovisual industry.
Brazilian filmmaker Bruno Ribeiro will participate in Next Step with his feature film project Saturday in Copacabana, produced by Reduto Filmes. The film follows the nocturnal and existential wanderings of a young pianist at a crossroads in her personal and professional life, as she drifts through the city's bars, clubs, and samba circles. Bruno Ribeiro is one of the most promising filmmakers of his generation, having won the Silver Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlinale in 2022 for Sunday Morning.
Thomas Rosso, Next Step director, Bruno Ribeiro, invited filmmaker, Joséphine Bourgois, executive director of Projeto Paradiso
This new partnership with Projeto Paradiso is part of Critics' Week's commitment to supporting the exceptional vitality of contemporary Brazilian cinema. Next Step has already welcomed several Brazilian projects in the past, such as Memory House by Joao Paulo Miranda, Power Halley by Lillah Halla, and Sweet River by Fellipe Fernandes. Critics' Week has also recently presented numerous Brazilian entries: Baby by Marcelo Caetano (Roederer Revelation Award for Ricardo Teodoro in 2024), Power Halley by Lillah Halla (Fipresci Prize 2023), and the short films Samba Infinito by Leonardo Martinelli and The Girl and the Pot by Valentina Homem.
Since 2014, Next Step has been supporting filmmakers from Critics' Week in their transition from short to feature films. For one week, they are accompanied by international consultants who advise them on writing, marketing, and scoring music for film. They also have the opportunity to initiate collaborations with production companies, international sales agents, and distributors during curated industry meetings.
In 11 editions, Next Step has welcomed 97 filmmakers of 39 different nationalities. 38 feature films have been produced and presented at major festivals, most recently Aisha Can't Fly Away by Morad Mostafa (Un Certain Regard 2025), The Visitor by Vytautas Katkus (Best Director Award Karlovy Vary 2025), Don't Let Me Die by Andrei Epure (Locarno 2025), Gorgonà by Evi Kalogiropoulou (Venice Critics Week 2025), Forastera by Lucia Aleñar Iglesias (Fipresci Prize TIFF 2025) and Aro berria by Irati Gorostidi Agirretxe (San Sebastian 2025).
2026 will see the festival premiere of seven new feature films from countries as diverse as China, Portugal, the Philippines, and Greece.
Next Step is a Critics' Week program, in collaboration with Le Moulin d'Andé and with the support of the CNC, SACEM, Copie Privée, SACD, the Morelia International Film Festival, and Projeto Paradiso.