Canal Brasil strives for diversity with five new series, Doc Feature

RIO DE JANEIRO – Canal Brasil, a major player in the Brazilian industry as the country’s pay-TV channel focusing on national titles from independent producers, has announced a package of four fiction and documentary TV series and a feature-length documentary, coming soon will be released in the period 2025-2027.

Feature-length documentary “Dona Onete” was produced by Hysteria, the division dedicated to developing female stories of top production company Conspiracao. It produces a portrait of the 84-year-old singer Dona Onete, the ‘Queen of Carimbo’, a traditional music genre from Para, the northern Brazilian state located in the Amazon rainforest. Mini Kerti, whose music documentary ‘Refavela 40’ was nominated for the Emmy, will direct ‘Dona Onete’. Lensing begins in June; Canal Brasil will bow the series in 2025.

“This project celebrates a woman who is important to Brazilian music, it turned out [northern Brazilian state of] Pará for the world and broke barriers. By telling her story, we showcase the culture of the region, as well as the traditions, fauna and flora present in her songs,” says Luisa Barbosa, head of Hysteria. Variety.

“Paloma” is a spin-off of the feature film of the same name by director Marcelo Gomes. Gomes’ sixth photo, released in 2022, had a strong sense of celebration.

Based on a true story, the picture’s protagonist is Paloma, a poor, black, peasant, and transgender woman who struggles to marry her partner in a traditional church ceremony. In Brazil’s impoverished, rural northeast, a conservative region, the church did not allow the ceremony.

Gomes will direct the series, a Carnaval Filmes production with four 50-minute episodes. Canal Brasil expects to release the game next year.

“Cafe com canela” (“Coffee and Cinnamon”) is a spin-off of the 2017 low-budget first feature film by Glenda Nicacio e Ary Rosa, who will also direct the new series. Set in Sao Felix, a small town in the state of Bahia, the drama focuses on Margarida, who lives in loneliness after the death of her son, until a former student knocks on her door.

As for the picture, Rosza Filmes will produce the series, which will have six episodes of 50 minutes and is expected to be released on Canal Brasil in the period 2026-2027.

‘Coligay’ is a documentary series about the eponymous, pioneering gay-organized fan group of Gremio, one of the most popular football teams in Brazil. Coligay members attended Gremio matches from 1977 to 1983, when they faced opposition from the generally sexist football scene and police repression of Brazil’s then military dictatorship.

Querosene Producoes will produce the series, which will consist of four 30-minute episodes. Canal Brasil plans to air the broadcast in the period 2026-2027.

“Amora” is a series based on the book of the same name by Natalia Borges Polesso, which received the important Jabuti Prize in 2016. The book is a collection of short stories by Polesso about sexual discovery, betrayal, growing older, prejudice and passion in the lesbian universe.

Caroline Fioratti directs the series, which consists of four 40-minute episodes. Big Bonsai Brasilis will be the production company.

“’Paloma’ and ‘Cafe com canela’ are series that pave the way for film spin-offs. ‘Coligay’ and ‘Amora’ further strengthen Canal Brasil’s stance for diversity in all forms of expression,” said André Saddy, General Manager of Canal Brasil. Variety. “These projects are an expression of the 26 years of history of Canal Brasil, the largest partner of the Brazilian film sector.”