MUV Capital, Retrato Filmes Set Trailblazing Partnership for Distribution in Brazil, Latin America (EXCLUSIVE)

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MUV Capital, a private equity firm, is teaming up with Retrato Filmes, a Brazilian distribution company, to jointly invest in the distribution of their upcoming film projects. This partnership will also involve purchasing popular titles produced for Brazil and Latin America at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Based in São Paulo, MUV Capital serves as the entertainment division of Hurst Capital, the foremost alternative asset management company in Latin America.

MUV Capital has primarily invested in the music sector and fine arts. Their partnership with Retrato marks their first audiovisual investment in Brazil and their initial solo project. This move follows Laura Rossi’s appointment as head of audiovisual investments at MUV in November. With expertise in funding, managing rights, and marketing projects effectively, Rossi was the former head of international at Gullane, a significant independent film-TV production company in Brazil.

Earlier, MUV Capital had teamed up with other equity funds for investments in two international films, “Swimming Home” and “The Summer Book.” However, now, as Rossi stated, MUV Capital is expanding its focus beyond private equity projects to cater more effectively to the unique requirements of the Brazilian market.

Investment in Brazil’s film industry by the private sector is just starting out, she noted. The initiative taken by MUV Capital can be seen as a gamble on the potential expansion of Brazil’s movie market, leveraging new market possibilities, and believing in Retrato Filmes specifically.

A new distribution team has been introduced, spearheaded by two seasoned professionals: Felipe Lopes, a former director of distribution at Brazil’s Vitrine Filmes (known for “Bacurau” and “Another Round”), and Daniel Pech, who has previously produced Felipe Carmona’s “Prison in the Andes” and served as an executive producer on Domingo Sotomayor’s “Too Late to Die Young” and Gabriela Amaral’s “Friendly Beast.

In 2025, Retrato hopes to acquire a total of three international films, with the possibility of negotiations happening at Cannes, but not limited to it. Additional deals may also be struck at film festivals such as Venice or Toronto, according to Lopes.

The distribution house is already circling titles at Cannes, he added.

Rossi stated to EbMaster that Brazil, being home to a massive population of 200 million, has significant potential for distribution. However, in 2024, we only managed to sell 125 million tickets at theaters.

Our public policymakers are diligently working towards bridging the infrastructure gap, particularly focusing on increasing the number of movie theaters. Currently, there are around 3,500 theatrical screens in Brazil, with one-third located in São Paulo alone. We’re thrilled to contribute to the objective of enhancing theater attendance in Brazil through our collaboration with MUV, alongside Retrato Filmes.

“Brazil is also one of the [world’s] main markets for VOD platforms,” she also observed.

For the past ten months, Retrato has been advocating for independent cinema from Brazil and Latin America by premiering seven films in local cinemas. These include “This Is Ballroom,” a documentary honoring the revitalized Black, queer ballroom community, as well as Diana Montenegro’s debut feature film about a young girl coming of age, titled “A Alma Quer Voar.” Additionally, it has co-produced films such as “Soul of the Desert,” which won the Venice Queer Lion, and “Prisoner of the Andes” and “The Human Surge 3.

Portrait respectfully acknowledged Marco Calvani’s U.S. production “High Tide,” a SXSW film featuring Marco Pigossi, James Bland, Marisa Tomei, and Bill Irwin. Additionally, it will re-release the 4K version of “Mulholland Drive.”

Or, in a more casual tone:

Portrait gave a nod to Marco Calvani’s U.S. movie “High Tide,” which stars Marco Pigossi, James Bland, Marisa Tomei, and Bill Irwin and was a SXSW selection. Plus, it will put out a 4K version of “Mulholland Drive.

As a film enthusiast, I’m thrilled about our new co-investment setup. This move will allow us, at Retrato, to strategically realign ourselves within the Latin American film industry. We’ll now have the opportunity to secure larger productions and share them with various industry players.

Pech stated at Cannes that we intend to broaden our efforts. Specifically, we aim to intensify our focus on global launches by purchasing prominent films that have excelled in top-tier film festivals, not just in Brazil, but across Latin America as well.

The collaboration between MUV-Retrato is now underway, as federal government incentives for distribution, which expired in 2018, have not been renewed. Significantly, this funding will extend beyond just movie acquisitions, also covering Promotion and Advertising (P&A), allowing films to be screened for longer periods at multiple theaters, as pointed out by Pech.

The agreement arrives at a time when art houses are rapidly changing, typically addressing social concerns while harboring creative aspirations. They’re venturing into genres or multiple genres and catering to broader audiences, frequently due to a fresh wave of screenwriters and directors.

Lopes mentioned that the movie ‘The Substance,’ shown at Cannes last year, is one of our key references. He also pointed out ‘I’m Still Here’ and ‘Anatomy of a Fall.’ The type of film we aspire to create is similar – ones with potential for wider appeal. With this investment, we can make that dream a reality. Our goal is to kick things off with an effective marketing strategy and enough copies to ensure a nationwide release in Brazil,” he explained.

Pech explained that sometimes people might not go see a movie even if they like its plot summary, simply because they aren’t aware that the film exists.

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2025-05-19 17:18