'The Riverbank' and 'Elza' Win Top Prizes at Rio Film Festival

Enock Carvalho and Matheus Farias's Locarno-winning "The Riverbank" took Best Fiction Feature Film at this year's Rio Film Festival, with Eryk Rocha's "Elza" winning Best Documentary Feature Film. The festival handed out the awards at a ceremony at Rio de Janeiro's Odeon cinema.

"The Riverbank" is set in Recife and follows young cleaner Izaquiel (Caique Copque), whose nightly search for intimacy leads him to magnetic fisherman Jeremias (Ítalo Martins). As violence closes in, both men embark on a journey into the mangroves, where reality and myth intertwine, exposing the invisible structures of power that govern their world.

The film is the duo's directorial feature debut. It arrives a few months after Farias won a Platino Award for editing Kleber Mendonça Filho's Oscar-nominated "The Secret Agent." "The Riverbank" also picked up three craft awards — cinematography for Luciana Baseggio, sound design for Moabe Filho, Guma Farias, Daniel Turini and João Victor Coura, and supporting actress for Renna Costa, Artia and Ísis Broken — plus the Felix Award for Brazilian LGBTQIA+-themed film.

Who else won at Premiére Brasil?

"Elza," Rocha's follow-up to "The Falling Sky," which premiered at Directors' Fortnight, documents the seven-decade career of singer and public figure Elza Soares. The film draws on rare archival materials and intimate conversations between Soares and the director during the final years of her life. Backers include Aruac Filmes ("Cinema Novo"), Maria Farinha Filmes ("The Beginning of Life"), Globo Filmes ("I'm Still Here"), RAI Cinema and Gullane+.

Other major Brazilian films of the year took top prizes:

• Director – Fiction: Gabriel Martins, "On Behalf of My Son," which also won screenplay and the fiction audience award
• Director – Documentary: Camila Valença, "Cão Sem Plumas"
• Actor: Victor di Marco, "London," which also won the FIPRESCI Award for Best Brazilian Film
• Actress, ex aequo: Isabel Teixeira, "Diário do Fogo," and Grace Passô, "The French Teacher"
• Supporting Actor: Pedro Goifman, "The French Teacher"

"On Behalf of My Son" screened at Toronto, "London" at Venice, and Ricardo Alves Jr.'s "The French Teacher" just bowed at San Sebastián.

Who judged the competition?

The Premiére Brasil jury was presided over by veteran "La Bola Negra" producer Esther García and included Berlinale co-director of programming Jacqueline Lyanga, French producer Sophie Erbs, composer Flavia Tygel and casting director Marcela Altberg.

The New Trends jury was presided over by director and editor Karen Harley, with screenwriter Maira Oliveira, producer Dora Amorim and director-screenwriter Guto Parente. The Felix Jury, dedicated to LGBTQIA+-themed films, was presided over by lawyer Ericka Gavinho, with director-screenwriter Clara Anastacia, cultural critic Guilherme Terri, also known as Rita Von Hunty, filmmaker Vita and cultural programmer Rodrigo Gerace.

New Trends and Felix winners

In the New Trends section, "Não Estamos Sonhando," directed by Ulisses Arthur, won Feature Film, while "Ondas de Silêncio," directed by Caio J. Bonfim, took Short Film. Thais Fujinaga won Director for "Talismã," Nina Prado won Actress for "O Deserto de Luiza" — which also took the audience award — and Pedro Leão won Actor for "Não Estamos Sonhando."

In the Felix Awards, Leyla Bouzid's "À voix basse" won International Film, Jake Witzenfeld's "Father, Father" won Documentary, and "Morfeu e Caronte," directed by Jocimar Dias Jr and Luiz Ulian, took the Special Jury Award. "Elephants in the Fog," directed by Abinash Bikram Shah, received an honorable mention.

Bruno Santamaría Razo's "Six Months in the Pink and Blue Building" had a strong night, winning the FIPRESCI Award for Best Latin American Film plus the Telecine Acquisition Award. Mário Patrocínio's "Maria Vitória" took the TV Globo Acquisition Award, and Viviane D'Avilla's "Let Us Be" won the Foreign Correspondents Association Award.

With a sweep spanning fiction, documentary and the Felix competition, "The Riverbank" now leaves Rio as the festival's most-decorated title and a clear reference point for Brazilian cinema's festival season.