RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — The Rio International Film Fest will feature China as its country focus in next year’s edition, as part of the 2026 China-Brazil Cultural Year, said Walkiria Barbosa, Rio Fest’s executive director and int’l marketing.
The governments of the two countries announced in Nov. 2024, during a visit of China’s president Xi Jinping to Brazil, that the 2026 China-Brazil Cultural Year will feature a broad programming element, currently in preparation.
“China is the largest film market in the world. Our intention is to have in the 2026 edition of Rio Fest the main Chinese film production companies, streamers and exhibitors for a big business meeting and screening of Chinese films,” Barbosa told Variety.
The China Media Group (CMG) made a presentation Oct. 3 in RioMarket, the business section of Rio Fest, with the presence of the company’s Latin America chief bureau Zhu Boying, as well as of China’s consul in Rio, Tian Min.
Following the presentation, CMG premiered the feature “Shenzhou 13,” the country’s first 8K film shot in space, which was theatrically released nationwide in China Sept. 5.
The film depicts the routine of astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping, and Ye Guangfu on the Shenzhou-13 mission, which was launched Oct. 16, 2021. The crew spent a total of 183 days in orbit, setting a new record for the longest continuous spaceflight by Chinese astronauts.
The film reveals awe-inspiring cosmic vistas and glimpses of daily life in orbit, captured with 8K ultra-high-definition cameras. Most of the footage was filmed by astronauts, with Wang’s perspective guiding the story.
The main Brazil-China co-production now in course is produced by Rio-based LC Barreto and CCTV Animation, a subsidiary of CMG. They are developing a TV animation series and an animation feature, both with Panda HoHo, a well-known character starring in other CMG productions.
“Hoho & The Tropical Sound Clash” is a 3D animated series aimed at preschoolers. The series is due to have four seasons, each with 13 episodes running 10 minutes in length.
Series showrunner Joao Amorim told Variety the first season is expected to open in the second half of 2026 on free-to-air TV channels TV Cultura in Brazil and CCTV Animation in China. Zhang Fan is the series’ animation director.
In the series, Panda HoHo will form part of a trio of Brazilian animals, with a Golden Lion Tamarin, a symbol of Brazilian biodiversity, and Capy, an adventurous capybara. In each episode, the trio will embark on adventures across Brazil, discovering unique biomes, cultural traditions and important lessons about environmental preservation and the power of collaboration.
The second LC Barreto-CCTV project, “Amazonika – The Origin” is a 3D animated feature about the recreation of the Amazon Rainforest, presented as an ancient link between Asian and Brazil’s Indigenous cultures. Panda HoHo will help Zo, a young man who can communicate with nature, and Nika, a bold princess warrior, to restore harmony in a world on the edge of collapse.
“We are working with two Indigenous Brazilians as consultants for the projects. Benki Piyãko is of the Asháninka original people and Zezinho Yube is of the Huni Kuin people,” Amorim said.