São Paulo’s Film Cash Rebate Delivers Early Wins, Sets Stage for 2025 Edition

Brazil’s Spcine, the city of São Paulo’s film-TV body, is delivering tangible results with its cash rebate program as it prepares for its third edition later this year. Four projects have advanced under the second rebate, including dark medical thriller “Suture,” created by Fabio Montanari and produced by Boutique Filmes for Amazon Prime Video, which secured R$3 million ($527,000).

The series follows Ícaro (Humberto Morais), a debt-ridden doctor and Dr. Mancini (Cláudia Abreu), a top surgeon battling trauma-induced tremors, as they lead a double life performing illegal procedures.

Other partially funded projects include a Portuguese-language remake of Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis starrer “Friends with Benefits” (Biônica Filmes, HBO Max), the telenovela “Scars of Beauty” (Coração da Selva, HBO Max), and “Maníaco do Parque” (Santa Rita Filmes, Prime Video), a dramatization of Brazil’s most infamous serial killer. 

Launched in 2021, the initiative stood alone in Brazil as the country’s first and at the time, only, production incentive.

Ary Scapin, Director of economic development and strategic partnerships of Spcine, says “the cash rebate program marked a groundbreaking step in Brazil’s audiovisual industry. Its initial success not only validated the initiative but also inspired similar programs across the country.”

The second edition, rebranded in 2022 as the Program for Attracting Film Productions to the City and State of São Paulo, substantially expanded funding to R$40 million ($7.03 million) through a partnership between São Paulo’s City Hall and State Government. Module 1, targeting international co-productions or service-based productions, has taken applications since May 25, 2023, with R$25.5 million ($4.5 million) available.

Eligible productions can receive between 20% and 30% reimbursement on qualified spend. Projects enhancing sustainability, diversity, and regional filming practices can get higher rebates.

The program requires minimum eligible expenditures of R$10 million ($1.8 million) for live-action and R$7 million ($1.2 million) for animation. It also mandates that at least 20% of expenditures occur outside São Paulo’s capital, buttressing regional development.

Negotiations are ongoing to renew the successful city-state partnership, with a goal of “expanding its impact and attracting even more large-scale national and international projects.” Scapin says.

Spcine CEO Lyara Oliveira is not anticipating major structural changes to Spcine given their understanding of the sector but notes “Our challenge is to keep up with this momentum, to grow alongside the sector, and to expand and diversify our actions as the industry itself transforms.”

While the rebate alone may not be sufficient to spark a nationwide boom, signs point to growing government support, including talk of a R$800 million ($140.6 million) incentive from Brazil’s Ministry of Culture.

Scapin believes the production sector is still in a recovery phase. “International productions often have financing cycles that take up to two years and many of the projects previously scouted are still securing funding,” Scapin says. “Our policies are constantly evolving.”