Distributor reinforces trajectory marked by national and international launches, and will be honored at EXPOCINE 2025
Vitrine Filmes , led by Silvia Cruz, celebrates its 15th anniversary as one of the leading independent film distributors in Brazil. Founded in 2010, the company has built a trajectory that combines artistic prestige and engagement with diverse audiences, focusing on original feature films and revealing new perspectives on audiovisual media. This year, the company will be honored at EXPOCINE 25 .
"From a very young age, I realized that cinema was more than entertainment. It was a way of understanding the world and sharing different perspectives. That was the seed for Vitrine," says Silvia. In fact, part of the interview was taken from the OdeioCinema , a partnership between Tonks (the conglomerate that owns the rights to Portal Exibidor and Expocine ) and AdoroCinema , while some questions were answered exclusively for our publication.
Vitrine 's creation , the distributor has set out to fill an under-explored gap in the national market, bringing to theaters productions that would otherwise have been difficult to find in traditional cinemas at the time. This commitment has resulted in projects that contribute to fostering an audience more interested in narratives outside the confines of commercial norms.
"There are films that we end up liking not just for the story, but for what they mean in the moment, in their context. There definitely needs to be a match, but those matches can be many," explains Silvia.
With over a decade of experience, Silvia says she's learned to balance auteur-focused films with larger-scale productions. Among the company's most notable initiatives is the Showcase Session , which serves as a true audience-building laboratory. This led to the creation of Manequim Filmes , a label focused on more commercial films , which sustains the catalog's diversity, almost four years ago. The idea is simple: if one title attracts a large audience, the company can support others that don't rely on significant box office numbers but are crucial to broadening the audience for Brazilian cinema, as Silvia explained in the interview.
Over the years, Vitrine has also been at the forefront of iconic releases, such as Bacurau (2019) and Aquarius (2016), which not only achieved impressive box office sales, but also toured international festivals, reinforcing the reach of Brazilian cinema abroad.
This movement is reflected in another achievement: the inclusion of titles in Oscar pre-selection campaigns. Although the competition is fierce, the strategy helps to put Brazilian cinema in the spotlight before the Academy and the North American market.
Another distinguishing feature is our close relationship with filmmakers, building lasting partnerships and supporting directors from their first feature films through to the consolidation of their careers. "We've followed their careers from their first films, as in the case of Kleber Mendonça. This close relationship is essential for the distributor to grow alongside the filmmakers," emphasizes Silvia.
In Vitrine Filmes' recent lineup, highlights include The Last Blue — already released on the 28th — and The Secret Agent , scheduled for commercial release on November 6th of this year. These works clearly illustrate the distributor's breadth, ranging from intimate authorial productions to genre narratives that appeal to diverse audiences.
Speaking of the two films, "The Last Blue" is set in a dystopian Brazil, where the government mandates the forced transfer of elderly people to "colonies," and 77-year-old Tereza decides to defy the system and embark on a journey far from the government's dictates. The film premiered in competition at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival 2025 and won the Silver Bear in the Grand Jury Prize category. In addition to being in theaters in Brazil, it also opened this year's Gramado Film Festival.
Meanwhile, The Secret Agent , set between Recife and São Paulo, follows a man involved in a politically charged espionage scheme. Its first screening was in competition at Cannes 2025, where it won awards for Best Director (Kléber) and Best Actor (Wagner Moura). Neon acquired the North American rights, and the Brazilian release is handled by Vitrine .
"It all started with the title. 'The Secret Agent' already existed as a name before the story even took shape. It stuck in Kléber's head and was the starting point for all the changes that came later. But the title remained," recalls Silvia.
In addition to curating works, the company actively engages in dialogue with exhibitors. This collaboration has been essential in securing space for independent films in commercial theaters, traditionally dominated by international blockbusters.
"There's a sales agent, so to speak, the film's distributor worldwide. Their role is to sell the film to many territories and also to pursue festivals, helping the film thrive and ensure it's well-received," reflects Silvia.
This effort to connect films, filmmakers, and audiences finds an important platform at EXPOCINE 2025. Considered the largest gathering of distributors and exhibitors in Latin America, the event has established itself as a strategic space for discussing trends, challenges, and future directions in the industry. It is in this environment of exchange and screening of new releases that Vitrine strengthens its presence.
" Expocine is extremely important. It's a major gathering of distributors and exhibitors, which, today, also includes students, with the aim of discussing the market. Expocine goes beyond discussing upcoming releases; it addresses industry topics, making it a very important gathering. Even more so because we've been without these in-person meetings for a while. Distributors get to meet and reconnect with our first major audience, which is the movie theaters," explains the executive.
Another important aspect of Vitrine is to encourage productions that represent Brazilian diversity. Throughout the company's history, geographic decentralization and a plurality of voices have always been criteria for selecting and strengthening new narratives.
For Silvia, cinema reaffirms itself as a space for encounter, exchange, and, above all, the development of critical thinking, with a commitment to collective experience at the center of its work. Commenting on the movement to re-release some classics in remastered form: "It's wonderful. The choices are always difficult, like any choice, right? Because it's a market with so many films that it makes you want to go to the Cinemateca and restore them all. And more people are joining this movement."
Vitrine Filmes its 15th anniversary, it not only celebrates its achievements but also looks to the future. The goal, as emphasized, is to continue balancing original narratives with broader-reaching works, without losing sight of its mission of bringing visibility to diverse perspectives on Brazil and the world.
This trajectory confirms the distributor as a fundamental agent in strengthening the national audiovisual sector, articulating the market, festivals and audience in a gear that continues to turn in favor of independent cinema.
Film Showcase at EXPOCINE 2025
Vitrine Filmes will present its 2025/2026 release lineup on October 3, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., in Sala Barco at Cine Marquise (Avenida Paulista, 2073). The event is part of the fair's official program and reinforces the distributor's presence at the largest event in the sector in Latin America.
"Celebrating 15 years is about looking back with pride, but also about planning the next steps. And there's nothing better than doing it at EXPOCINE, in direct contact with the people who drive this market," concludes Silvia.
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