Plastic Films announces the creation of its own distributor

Founded in Contagem, in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, Filmes de Plástico reaches its 15th year full of restlessness and boldness. The production company, which represented Brazil at the 2023 Oscars with “Marte Um”, formed by filmmakers André Novais Oliveira, Gabriel Martins, Maurilio Martins and producer Thiago Macêdo Correia, plans to release three films, a series and also found its own distribution company . All this in the next 12 months.

“These 15 years are an important milestone, which accompanies a moment in which the producer opens up to new horizons and takes new steps. The first of these is the opening of our distributor, Malute, which will be the label that will distribute our films from now on”, reveals producer Thiago Macêdo Correia, detailing that some of the numerous new Films de Plástico productions are still come out in partnership with Embaúba Filmes, a historical partner of the Minas Gerais production company.

“Malute will premiere by releasing André (Novais)’s new film”, he says, referring to “The Day I Met You”, an award-winning romantic comedy starring Grace Passô and Renato Novaes. Since making its world premiere at the Rio Festival last October, the film has been shown at 10 festivals and won 5 awards, including Best Actor and Best Actress at the Brasília Film Festival, and the of Critics, at the International Film Festival in São Paulo. “This week we are going to premiere it in New York, at a festival at MoMA”, informs Thiago, adding that the title enters the commercial circuit, in Brazil, on June 13th, the week of Valentine’s Day.

Thiago mentions that the launch of the label speaks to the quartet’s desire to experiment with different possibilities of communicating with the public. “In addition to our own productions, the distributor must also eventually launch projects by other directors and people who interest us”, he details. “Furthermore, it has to do with our intention of wanting to have more of a hand in these processes”, he adds.

“I feel that we are a little restless, that we are a little abused. We see that there are previously tested paths that, theoretically, guarantee market security, but, at the same time, we want to test, take a small shortcut, try a new route. It might work, it might not work. But, at least, we will have learned something in this process”, she explains.

Gabriel Martins adds that the idea had been in the works since 2016, gaining more strength following the release of “Marte Um”, his third feature film, which, released in 2022, made its world premiere at the Sundance Festival (USA), circulated through festivals and exhibitions across the planet, accumulating 38 awards, in addition to being chosen to represent Brazil in the category of Best International Film at the 2023 Oscars. On the commercial circuit, the film passed the mark of 100 thousand tickets sold – an impressive number for independent Brazilian cinema.

Films and series

Judging by the volume of work that the producer has ahead in the next 12 months, the feeling that remains is that the use of the adverbial phrase “a little” before “restless” and the adverb “half” before “abusados” are just signs of modesty.

“Our anniversary also coincides with the beginning of André’s work on his next feature, which is called ‘Se Eu Fosse Vivo… Vivia’. We are in the second week of pre-production for this project”, he explains, informing that the film should start shooting on May 1st, with six weeks of filming planned in Contagem, in the metropolitan region of BH. “It’s a very, very important film for us, because it marks a different moment in André’s career. In it, while there are issues that are perhaps very familiar and close to what the public expects from it, there are also things that are very different”, he analyzes, describing the new production as a mix of everyday drama with fantastic realism and science fiction. “It’s a film that excites us a lot,” he explains.

“In the second semester we shoot Gabriel’s next film, called ‘Vicentina Pede Apologies’, which is the most structurally robust project we have carried out at the production company to date”, he adds. At the same time, we are finishing Maurílio’s first solo feature, which is ‘Último Episode’, a film that we shot at the very end of the pandemic and is now entering the final stretch of completion”, he points out. The film tells the story of three teenagers, set in the early 1990s, in Contagem – “and which is our tribute to Sessão da Tarde”, defines the producer. The expectation is that the title will begin circulating at festivals in early 2025, probably debuting in the second half of the same year.

Finally, also at the beginning of 2025, Filmes de Plástico plans to start filming its first series, called Natal dos Silva, created by Gabriel Martins and which will be written and directed by the three filmmakers. With five episodes of 30 minutes each, the production is classified as a family comedy and will be released on Canal Brasil at the end of the same year.

Simultaneously with the launch of a distributor and the production of three films and a series, Filmes de Plástico still has room to plan retrospective exhibitions, celebrating these 15 years of history. “They should happen both here in BH and in São Paulo”, explains Gabriel.

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