Glaz Entertainment, one of Brazil’s leading companies, is marking its 20th anniversary by aiming to return to its roots, theatrical cinema.
According to Glaz CEO-producer Mayra Lucas, they’re currently in talks with Sony Pictures Brazil to develop a new project, adding that the last time they co-produced with the studio was on the 2010 movie “Brother” (“Broder”), which follows three childhood friends whose hardscrabble lives reflect the reality of Brazil’s favelas.
“During and after the pandemic, we focused on producing for streaming platforms but we’d like to return to theaters,” said Lucas, who is heartened by the recent triumphs of Brazilian cinema, led by the Best International Feature Oscar for Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here” last year and the recent Golden Globe Best Actor prize of Wagner Moura in “The Secret Agent,” both unprecedented wins.
Glaz’s films have made the Brazilian box office Top 10 and have consistently ranked among the most-watched titles across multiple streaming platforms.
Some of their past features include “I’m Rich!” (“Tô Ryca!”), which ranked among the Top 10 movies in 68 countries and became one of the most-watched non-English language films on Netflix; “Welcome to Quixeramobim” (“Bem-vinda a Quixeramobim”); “Someone Borrowed” (“Esposa de Aluguel”) and “Burning Betrayal” (O lado bom de ser traida”).
The company has also cultivated a strong alliance with local streaming platform giant Globoplay with which it has produced several shows. A number of new series are in the pipeline, among them:
“Arrastados” [roughly translates to “Dragged”] a Globoplay original docuseries directed by Mariana Jaspe. Based on a bestselling book by journalist Daniela Arbex, it chronicles one of Brazil’s biggest environmental and humanitarian disasters, the collapse of the Brumadinho dam in Minais Girais, which killed some 300 people.
Another equally compelling project with Globoplay, “The Evandro Case,” is a true crime series about the investigation around the murder of a boy, directed by Aly Muritiba, based on a top-ranked podcast by Ivan Mizanzuki.
A third crime series in the works with Globoplay is “Meninos de Altamira” (tentatively titled “The Boys from Altamira” in English), also based on a podcast by Mizanzuki. Based on real events, it delves into a series of horrific crimes that took place between 1989 and 1993 in Altamira, Northern Brazil, where several boys were kidnapped, mutilated and killed.
The Boys from Altamira, Courtesy of Glaz Entertainment
Two of the projects Glaz is presenting at Content Americas have strong international appeal:
“The Straw Man” is a series set in the Brazilian Pantanal, a massive freshwater wetland fed by the Paraguay river, that plays like a Nordic noir thriller. It follows a serial killer who targets pregnant women and leaves straw dolls to replace their babies. A detective, deeply disturbed by what he is witnessing, begins to lose his grip on reality.
“Under the Olive Sun,” a series that takes place in southern Brazil that casts a light on the little-known Muslim communities in Brazil. The cross-cultural love story centers on Rana, a Lebanese refugee displaced by a devastating airstrike, who resettles in rural Brazil where she’s welcomed by a Muslim family. She reunites with Gabriel, a Brazilian Navy officer who is also traumatized by the same airstrike. Their bond resurfaces grief, guilt and love, raising the question whether love can heal the past.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source variety.com ’
