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As BrLab prepares to mark its 15th anniversary in 2025, one of Latin America’s most influential development labs for film projects is announcing a bold set of changes designed to expand its international reach, enhance its programming and deepen its support for emerging filmmakers.
Rafael Sampaio, BrLab’s founder and director, met up with Variety in Cannes to discuss four key updates that reflect the platform’s evolving role as both a creative hub and a strategic launchpad for cinema from Brazil, Latin America and the wider Ibero-American region.
Founded in 2011, BrLab has grown into a vital force in the development of independent cinema, offering workshops, labs and mentorships for projects from over 15 countries. Supported by institutions such as Programa Ibermedia, Projeto Paradiso and Spcine, and now also by Petrobras as a multi-year sponsor, the lab receives more than 400 submissions annually, carefully curated by a professional selection committee.
The results speak for themselves. As of 2025, 62 feature films that participated in BrLab’s various sections have been produced and released, with 17 more currently in post-production and another 10 funded for production through 2026. By next year, the number of completed projects linked to BrLab is expected to reach nearly 90. Many of these films have gone on to premiere at prestigious international festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Berlin, San Sebastián and Locarno.
Among recent standouts are “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” which is part of the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes 2025; “Levante” by Lila Halla (Brazil), which screened in the 2023 Semaine de la Critique; “Légua” by Filipa Reis and João Guerra (Portugal), presented at Directors’ Fortnight the same year; “Los Tiburones” by Lucía Garibaldi (Uruguay), which premiered at Sundance; “Las Herederas” by Marcelo Martinessi (Paraguay), which bowed at the Berlinale; and “Los Reyes del Mundo” by Laura Mora (Colombia), winner of the Concha de Oro at San Sebastián 2022. “The Wolf Behind the Door” by Fernando Coimbra, featured in BrLab’s very first edition in 2011, was later selected for Toronto and San Sebastián.
Now, as it looks ahead to the future, BrLab is implementing four major changes that promise to strengthen its impact even further.
New Dates: Moving to April
Starting in 2025, BrLab will shift from its traditional October slot to a new window in the first half of the year. The 15th edition is scheduled for April 7–13, 2025. The move avoids competition with the saturated fall festival calendar and provides participating projects with more time to polish their work before premiering later in the year. According to Sampaio, the timing also enhances the value of BrLab’s Rough Cut Lab, allowing it to act as a more effective mid-year intervention.
“This change creates a more useful rhythm for project development,” he said. “We want our selected teams to take full advantage of the international circuit, and April positions them well to do that.”
BrLab CoPro: A New Co-Production Forum
BrLab is also launching BrLab CoPro, a curated boutique co-production forum aimed at catalyzing new international partnerships. The platform will bring together producers and projects interested in forging co-productions with Brazil and other Latin American territories, in response to a regional landscape where cross-border collaboration is increasingly essential for financing and distribution.
This new space marks a significant deepening of BrLab’s role as a connector, not just of talent, but also of institutions and industries that can bring films to life.
Audience Design Workshop Goes Regional
Since 2017, BrLab’s Audience Design Workshop has provided specialized training to Brazilian filmmakers on how to identify, understand and reach their target audiences. In 2025, the workshop will expand to include participants from across Latin America, Portugal and Spain, opening a new regional dialogue around the challenges of distribution and audience engagement.
“The idea is to strengthen regional circulation and create sustainable connections,” said Sampaio, who himself first encountered audience design methodology through TorinoFilmLab. “Too often, films from one Latin American country don’t even reach audiences in the next one. We hope to help change that.”
Reinforcing Institutional Support and Regional Collaboration
BrLab’s evolution has been made possible through robust institutional backing. Longstanding supporters such as Programa Ibermedia, Projeto Paradiso and Spcine have been joined by Petrobras, which is now backing the lab through a multi-year sponsorship. This growing coalition reflects BrLab’s increasing importance as a development engine not only for Brazilian cinema but for a broader Ibero-American creative ecosystem.
With nearly 90 films supported by 2026 and a growing list of international accolades, BrLab stands as both a model and a catalyst for regional cinema. As it embarks on its 15th edition, the lab is reaffirming its core mission: to empower emerging voices, facilitate meaningful collaboration and help shape the future of global cinema, one project at a time.
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