{"id":785027,"date":"2026-07-07T15:13:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T15:13:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/785027\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T15:13:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T15:13:10","slug":"autour-de-minuit-spamflix-board-buzzy-brazilian-animated-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/785027\/","title":{"rendered":"Autour de Minuit, Spamflix Board Buzzy Brazilian Animated Feature"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tFrance\u2019s Autour de Minuit<\/a>, behind Academy Award-winning animated short \u201cLogorama,\u201d and Spamflix<\/a>, a burgeoning force in Portuguese animation production and distribution, have boarded Brazilian filmmaker and cinematographer Erick Ricco\u2019s \u201cThe March of the Sunflowers,\u201d one of the animation highlights at this week\u2019s Bogot\u00e1 Audiovisual Market<\/a> (BAM<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\n\tAlready working up an industry fanbase at December\u2019s Animation! In Ventana Sur, \u201cThe March of the Sunflowers\u201d hits BAM as one of its buzziest animation projects, a joint production between Ricco\u2019s Tuba Studio and Ricco Filmes<\/a>, both based in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Brazil\u2019s southeastern state of Minas Gerais, and producer Ivan Melo\u2019s Cup Filmes<\/a> in S\u00e3o Paulo. Autour de Minuit and Spamflix have now joined the project as co-production partners.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the animated feature, when the sun fails to rise after her family loses their only rooster, 9-year-old Marialice sets off with her loyal chick, Marques, following a march of sunflowers across Brazil\u2019s magical backlands. Along the way, she encounters talking animals, living shadows and mythical creatures, discovering the courage to bring daylight back to the world.<\/p>\n

\n\tAimed at children aged 6 to 9 and family audiences, the stop-motion animated fantasy adventure is currently in pre-production and scheduled to begin shooting in 2027. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201c\u2018The March of the Sunflowers\u2019 will be the first stop-motion feature ever produced in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais,\u201d said Melo. \u201cIt is also among the very few Brazilian animated features created specifically for young children. Inspired by the landscapes, folklore and traditional craftsmanship of the\u00a0sert\u00e3o of Minas Gerais, the film introduces an authentic Brazilian heroine while celebrating one of Brazil\u2019s richest yet least represented cultural regions. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cVisually, the project draws inspiration from the legacy of Giramundo, Brazil\u2019s legendary puppet theater company, through the work of art director Ulisses Tavares,\u201d Melo added.<\/p>\n

\n\tAn independent production company focused on auteur cinema and animation with international appeal, Cup Filmes\u2019 productions include\u00a0Marcelo Caetano\u2019s acclaimed 2024 relationship drama \u201cBaby,\u201d which premiered at Cannes Critics\u2019 Week, and the 2021 award-winning stop-motion feature\u00a0\u201cBob Spit \u2013 We Do Not Like People,\u201d directed by Cesar Cabral.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Nicolas Schmerkin, founder and CEO of Paris-based Autour de Minuit, \u201cThe March of the Sunflowers\u201d represents an ideal international stop-motion co-production. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAutour de Minuit is celebrating this year its 25th anniversary,\u201d said Schmerkin. \u201cAfter several shorts and TV specials in stop motion, including the five last adventures from the \u2018A Town Called Panic\u2019 franchise, Autour de Minuit is very pleased to join Cup Films and Spamflix for the co-production of a first feature film with this wonderful technique.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe fell in love with the story and visuals when Ivan Melo and Erick Ricco pitched the project at Ventana Sur last year and we hope to contribute by sending French talent to the animation sets in Brazil, but also bringing our expertise in CGI (for the crowd scenes for example)\u00a0and compositing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIndeed, with Autour de Minuit, the project has gained as a partner one of Europe\u2019s leading animation production companies, internationally recognized for its innovative films, series and hybrid productions, among them the Goya Award-winning \u201cPsychonauts, the Forgotten Children\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cUnicorn Wars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe March of the Sunflowers\u201d is likewise bolstered by the addition of Lisbon-based Spamflix, a burgeoning and admired producer of original animated films and the distributor of selected animation titles in Portugal.<\/p>\n

\n\tPenned by Rafael Assun\u00e7\u00e3o, \u201cThe March of the Sunflowers\u201d marks the first feature film project from Ricco\u2019s Tubz Studio<\/a> and Ricco Filmes shingles, which develop and produce original animated projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe project is supported by the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil\u2019s Ministry of Culture, Energisa and Animaparque, part of the Polo Audiovisual in Minas Gerais\u2019 Zona da Mata region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"France\u2019s Autour de Minuit, behind Academy Award-winning animated short \u201cLogorama,\u201d and Spamflix, a burgeoning force in Portuguese animation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":785028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[64,63,370882,207117,370883,370884,134,344,370885,370886,370887],"class_list":["post-785027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-autour-de-minuit","tag-bam","tag-bogotu00e1-audiovisual-market","tag-cup-filmes","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-ricco-filmes","tag-spamflix","tag-tubz-studio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}