Tiradentes spotlight: Brazil’s push for audiovisual policy

At Tiradentes, Brazil’s government backed audiovisual policy: a seat in Nova Indústria Brasil and a participatory goals plan aimed at results.

Saturday’s debates (24), part of the 4th Tiradentes Forum within the 29th Tiradentes Film Festival (Minas Gerais), highlighted rare institutional alignment around Brazil’s screen sector. They also underscored social participation as a cornerstone, with policies built collaboratively across government and civil society.

Audiovisual enters Nova Indústria Brasil

In the panel “Audiovisual as a State strategy: convergence, industry and development,” the Secretariat for Audiovisual at Brazil’s Ministry of Culture (SAV) framed audiovisual as an engine for development. The session featured secretary Joelma Gonzaga and Daniela Fernandes, director of Distribution and Preservation.

Gonzaga described the political coordination that enabled audiovisual to be included in Nova Indústria Brasil (NIB). She said the effort was built collaboratively with other ministries and tied to diagnostics used to shape the sector’s Guidelines and Targets Plan.

PDM: method and social participation

Fernandes presented the methodology behind Brazil’s Guidelines and Targets Plan (PDM) for audiovisual, including its structuring directives and goals. She stressed that social participation is not a side feature but a central pillar of the process and a principle guiding federal public policy.

Bruna Boeckmann, advisor at Brazil’s National Film Agency (Ancine), said the PDM is participatory, executable, and designed to deliver concrete outcomes.

Industry, SMEs, and exports

Jussara Locatelli called the PDM a reference for future action and emphasized the relevance of bringing the sector into NIB, especially for small and mid-sized companies. Walkiria Barbosa, president of the Audiovisual Industry and Trade Federation (Fica), argued that NIB can place the sector into major strategic agreements and speed up industrial modernization.

Barbosa also announced the launch of a market study on exporting Brazilian films, as international circulation returns to the center of cultural and economic discussions.

The panel was moderated by Débora Ivanov, from the 4th Tiradentes Forum’s general coordination.

Forum opening and public agenda

Gonzaga also joined the opening session of the 4th Tiradentes Forum, focused on challenges and opportunities to consolidate a national audiovisual ecosystem. She linked today’s recognition of Brazilian cinema to the country’s political and institutional context and said SAV’s work is guided by data, evidence, and long-term planning aimed at policy continuity.

Representing the Ministry of Education, Aline Zero argued cinema should be seen not only as culture but as a tool for education and “reading the world.” Durval Ângelo, from the Minas Gerais State Court of Accounts, called for convergence among progressive culture and audiovisual sectors amid the current political landscape.

Ancine director Patrícia Barcelos presented a 2025 actions overview and announced the creation of the Gender, Race, and Persons with Disabilities Commission. Curatorial coordinator Francis Vogner dos Reis emphasized the complexity of Brazilian cinema and the urgency of audiovisual preservation, connecting it to imaginative sovereignty.

Also taking part were Juliano Lopes, acting mayor of Belo Horizonte, Samara Castro from the Presidency’s Secretariat for Social Communication, and federal deputy Jandira Feghali. She defended cultural sovereignty, stronger alignment between the audiovisual sector and the federal government, and regulation of Video on Demand (VOD) platforms.

The discussion was moderated by Tatiana Carvalho Costa, president of APAN and a member of the Superior Council of Cinema.

Foto: Divulgação