Felipe Vellas to Direct 'Bateau Mouche' on 1988 Rio Sinking That Killed 55

By Tom Whitfield

Felipe Vellas, whose "Elize: Shadows of a Woman" drew 17.4 million views in a week on Netflix, will direct "Bateau Mouche," a film about the sinking of the Bateau Mouche IV in Rio de Janeiro's Guanabara Bay on New Year's Eve 1988. The accident killed 55 people and remains one of the most shocking tragedies in Brazilian history. Boutique Filmes and Anonymous Content Brazil are producing.

Gustavo Lipsztein, writer of the Netflix hits "Radioactive Emergency" and "The Endless Night" — both also drawn from historical Brazilian tragedies — will pen the script.

Vellas arrives with measurable commercial weight. "Elize: Shadows of a Woman" topped Netflix's global ranking for non-English language films and reached the platform's top 10 in 90 countries. The new film extends his run of real-life stories, though it moves from true crime to mass tragedy — a shift that raises the stakes of the production's own stated ethical standard.

What does the project change for the partnership?

Boutique Filmes partner Gustavo Mello says the film stems directly from the companies' working relationship with Vellas, who is also a partner at Anonymous Content.

"We had great affinity working together on 'Elise' and felt we needed to find another project together," Mello told Variety. He said conversations with Bárbara Teixeira, Vellas's partner at Anonymous, aimed to find "a film that would encompass the dimension of our creative partnership." When they landed on the story, he said, "we felt it captured the ambition of this partnership."

The film will follow the moments before and after the sinking, centering passengers, crew and their families during that one night.

"We believe this story captures Brazil at a very particular time, entering the New Republic with a sense of hope and a belief in a new country," Mello said. "That's when this tragic accident happens, within a system of irresponsibility."

How will the producers handle a real tragedy?

Mello acknowledged the sensitivity of dramatizing real events. "With the projects we have worked on, we have a need for creative autonomy, but it has to be absolutely anchored in an ethical responsibility so we can make the right decisions," he said.

He also flagged the production's scale as an open problem. The team is "working hard to find the right technical solutions, mixing practical effects with VFX so we can execute the film at a very high artistic level," he said — a promise, but one with no attached budget, cast or shooting date. Neither producer named a release window.

Mello framed the film as part of a broader industry duty: "I think all of us in the Brazilian industry have this responsibility towards the public, to diversify what we do and elevate the level of quality of our productions."

Vellas emphasized the unfinished nature of the case. "The Bateau Mouche tragedy encompasses countless stories, many still untold or not fully understood, involving victims, family members, ordinary people, celebrities, heroes, and villains," he said. "It is an event that has never truly reached its conclusion. The film therefore aims to present the perspective of those directly affected by the accident, both on that night and in the ensuing events that have spanned more than three decades."

Anonymous Content CEO Bárbara Teixeira said the film is "deeply aligned with our mission at Anonymous: telling stories of great cultural significance."

"Going back in time and blending a factual reenactment with a highly polished dramatic narrative helps bring this episode back to life and sheds light on acts of irresponsibility that, to this day, have not been properly investigated nor punished," Teixeira said.

That last claim is the film's sharpest edge. Teixeira positions "Bateau Mouche" not just as remembrance but as an argument that accountability for the 1988 sinking remains incomplete — which places the finished film, whenever it arrives, under scrutiny from the victims' families and the record alike.