Bernardo Barreto: Art Turned Into Spreadsheet

Actor and filmmaker Bernardo Barreto reflects on cinema’s data-driven future. Awarded Best Film at SOHO International Film Festival, he champions creative risk over formulas.

Industry Driven by Spreadsheets

Cinema faces standardization. Productions favor social media stars, viral trailers and studio guidelines. Art takes a backseat.

Bernardo Barreto, based between Brazil, New York and Los Angeles, slams this trend. “Art has become a spreadsheet today”, he says. Studios chase stories that check boxes, not bold minds.

Studios want stories that fill requirements, not minds. If an idea doesn’t fit the formula, it doesn’t exist.

He sees three forces: data-driven streamers, spectacle studios and independents fighting for freedom amid funding shortages.

Festivals as Artistic Havens

Festivals validate authorship but lack sustainability. “Films get 15 minutes of fame, then vanish”, Barreto notes. They resist the rush for quick formulas.

The Ballad of a Hustler (Invisíveis in Brazil), directed by Heitor Dhalia, shows demand for human stories. Barreto wrote and starred.

It won Best Film at SOHO International Film Festival in New York; Best Drama Feature at the 32nd Arizona International Film Festival; Best Feature at Indie Street Film Festival 2026 in Red Bank, New Jersey; and two awards at Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park and Cranford, New Jersey.

Brazil vs. US Market Differences

In the US, it’s profit-focused entertainment. Brazil keeps a cultural market with exchanges and incentives, despite bureaucracy. “There’s still room for emotion here”, he states.

Over 15 years in the US, Barreto returns to Brazil for projects. He calls for renewal: spotlight new talents and break old cycles.

Upcoming Projects and Outlook

New films include psychological horror Epitaph and Rio-set thriller A Isca. “What drives me is eye contact. Algorithms and glamour are distractions”, he concludes.

Photo: Bernardo Barreto at SOHO International Film Festival with Best Film trophy and poster of The Ballad of a Hustler. Screening of Heitor Dhalia’s film at Arizona Festival cinema, with Barreto and award. Bernardo Barreto has lived in the US for over 15 years but keeps visiting Brazil for new projects.