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Few TV series come with such a prestigious pedigree as “The Sympathizer“. Adapted from a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel; co-produced by HBO and top-of-the-line independent film studio A24; co-created, co-produced, co-written and co-directed by Park Chan-wook; also helmed by top Brazilian film director Fernando Meirelles; and co-starring Hollywood mega-star Robert Downey Jr. in no less than five (!) different roles. In fact the miracle is that the show, a miniseries in seven episodes, is never weighed down by the sheer expectations sustaining it. On the contrary, it manages to offer a thrilling, fun and heartbreaking roller-coaster ride into the story of its refugee characters.

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As prestigious as it is, “The Sympathizer” is also a highly unlikely production. After all, none of the main filmmakers or producers involved hails from Vietnam or from the Vietnamese-American community at the heart of the show,...

Picture: Brazil’s 1970 World Cup team

Another exciting sports period drama from Brazil is in development at Netflix. After producing the biopic on beloved F1 driver Ayrton Senna, the attention is now being turned to Brazil’s iconic World Cup winning team from the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. Details are limited, but filming will take place in Brazil and Mexico. Here’s what we know so far.

The Untitled Miniseries is a Brazilian sports drama created by Naná Xavier and Rafael Dornellas. Pedro Morelli and Paulo Morelli will direct it. It will be produced by 02 Filmes, the same studio behind the beloved film City of God. Since its founding in 1991, 02 Filmes has produced thousands of Brazilian films and television shows.

Picture left to right: Rafael Dornellas, Paulo Morelli, Pedro Morelli and Naná Xavier.

Andrea Barata Ribeiro, Fernando Meirelles, and Paulo Morelli are the executive producers representing 02 Filmes.

What...

Conclave has been sweeping through the awards season with great aplomb, possibly much to the surprise of those who thought that a religious thriller might not be brilliant box-office material. Much has aided the film's surge up the box office and success this awards season, including its phenomenal cast anchored by Ralph Fiennes, its glorious visuals and production design, and the fantastic score that lies beneath. Conclave is just the latest big film or TV show to cover the papacy and doctrines of Christianity. Silenceby Martin Scorsese, The Two Popesby Fernando Meirelles, and the TV show The Young Popestarring Jude Law are some examples of stories with a religious backdrop or theme appearing as mainstream releases.

Female-led shows, crime dramas and politically charged stories are still making their mark.

“Anne of Green Gables” author Lucy Maud Montgomery will finally get the starry treatment worthy of her iconic characters in “Lucy. Maud.” Produced by Girls Productions, it’s created by Susan Coyne and presented at Berlinale’s Co-Pro Series.

“It’s a compelling drama about a powerful woman whose life experience remains relatable to this day,” promises producer Edwina Follows.

Another female protagonist, a young chef dealing with psychosis, will look for “Recipes for a Nervous Breakdown” in a Sophie White-created show, based on her own novel. Ireland’s Deadpan Pictures produces.

“What sets ‘Recipes’ apart is the stark, raw authenticity of the piece. It ties Sophie’s true story of managing – rather than ever fully healing from – a mental health collapse, through the glory and salvation of food. Sophie wants to bring the audience through the full descent into psychosis,...

Federation and OjoFilms have joined forces to create a new Spanish-language limited series titled “El Abuso,” based on the book “La Fuga de Punta Carretas” by Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro.

Directed by Academy Award nominees Cesar Charlone and Fernando Meirelles, the Dp and co-director of 2003’s “City of God,” respectively, “El Abuso” tells the true story of the dramatic 1971 jailbreak of 101 political prisoners from the Tupamaros, a legendary urban guerilla group. Among the escapees was Pepe Mújica, who later became President of Uruguay.

“At a time when the world was deeply divided, this jailbreak symbolized freedom for an entire region,” said Charlone.

The series will also examine the kidnapping and assassination of CIA operative Dan Mitrione, which the Tupamaros used to expose the brutal tactics of the impending Operation Condor during a shadowy period of the Cold War.

Delivered as an eight-episode limited series, “El Abuso” is being adapted by Mariana Santangelo...

Announced Jan. 21 at Miami’s Content Americas, the Rose d’Or Latinos Awards are “held during a period of great creative fervor, change, major challenges and arguably the greatest transformation the entertainment industry has ever experienced,” says jury chairman Marcos Santana, former president of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and current CEO of Mas Ros Media.

That creative fervor is well on display in nominations for the two biggest categories, Drama and Comedy/Dramedy. Variety profiles the nominees below. Some high-profile titles might seem missing: For example, Netflix’s “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and “Senna,” its biggest TV productions to date in Latin America. Voting, however, began before either title was released.

Drama “City of God: The Fight Rages On,”

“City of God: The Fight Rages On,” (O2/Warner Bros. Discovery/Max) Brazil

Twenty years after the events of “City of God,” Buscapé, now Rio’s most in-demand shutterbug guilty at...

Berlinale Series Market Selects has revealed its lineup. The European Film Market’s “boutique market for serial content from all over the world” will welcome Spanish shows in Berlinale Market Selects, its screening showcase, from “Internal Affairs,” focusing on one of the first female police officers in Spain, starting her first post, to “Honor” – yet another take on famous Israeli show which sees a judge covering his son’s crime.

Produced by Alex de la Iglesia, AtresmediaTV and Alex de la Iglesia and Carolina Bang at their Banijay-backed Pookepsie Films, “Sanctuary” turns to post-climate disaster future where women spend their pregnancies in a dome protecting them from pollution. It is not all they think, however.

Meanwhile, “City of God” director Fernando Meirelles and “Borgen” writer Maja Jul Larsen will bring projects to the Bsm’s Co-Pro Series strand.

Spain has been chosen as the Country in Focus at this year’s EFM.

Drug boss series, biopics, a Kiwi skateboarding drama and a smorgasbord of period pieces are set for the upcoming Berlinale Co-Production Market.

The line-up for this year’s Co-Pro Series pitch event, held during the Berlin Film Festival, features projects from Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, the U.S. and from across Europe.

The realities of financing premium drama mean co-production is in vogue and the shows pitched in Berlin will be scouting for partners.

Danish project The Best of Families will be on show, hailing from Piv Bernth’s ITV Studios backed banner Apple Tree. The series traces the impact of a chemical factory on the lives of various families and nature in the 1950s and comes from Maja Jul Larsen (Borgen) and director Charlotte Sieling (Homeland).

Two narco stories have made the grade. Wildlife comes from Brazil and the U.S. and is billed as a series about an unusual drug lord.

The Berlinale Series Market has unveiled its 2025 lineup, featuring 17 international series under its Market Selects banner.

The productions, from 13 countries, range geographically from Brazil to South Africa to New Zealand and in genres from crime thrillers to biopics to dark comedies (check out the full line-up below). Among the higher-profile titles are the Australian/U.S. series Sunny Nights, starring Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth, Nebraska) and D’Arcy Carden (Barry, The Good Place) as an American brother and sister who head to Sydney to start up a spray tan business only to get caught up in the city’s criminal underworld; and Byun Seung-Min’s Concrete Utopia, a series spin-off of his 2023 hit action film set in a post-apocalyptic world after a catastrophic earthquake.

The small-screen industry event runs Feb. 16-19 as part of the Berlin Film Festival‘s European Film Market (EFM). The Market Selects projects will...

This article contains mentions of rape.

City of God ends with a shooting involving the gangs led by Li’l Zé and Knockout Ned, with the outcome of the war proving that the cycle of violence that allowed Li’l Dice to grow into a ruthless drug dealer is bound to continue. The third act of City of God brings the movie full circle, as it goes back to the opening scene of Rocket getting himself between the police and Li’l Zé’s gang as a war between the drug dealer and Knockout Ned is about to begin.

What follows is an intense, bloody shooting during which Li’l Zé appears to be arrested but proceeds to walk away freely. Li’l Zé is then ambushed and gunned down by a group of kids. One of the greatest movies of the 2000s, City of God is a turning point...

Conclave is one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 2024, and while you wait on the film to hit streaming, you should watch Netflix's similar Oscar-nominated drama from six years ago. Conclave is all about the Catholic group who elects the next Pope, with the film chronicling the politics and drama that surround the nomination and election process in the wake of the previous Pope's death. Due to Conclave's popularity, many viewers are looking for similar movies, with another incredible drama about the transition between two Popes being a huge Netflix hit from a few years ago.

As of the writing of this article, Conclave is not available to stream on any streaming services yet, meaning that viewers who are hoping to catch up on the 2024 movie are still out of luck. While Conclave can be purchased digitally on some platforms, it can't be rented or viewed as part of a subscription.

Welcome to the exciting TV world in 2024, where the small screen is bustling with creativity and innovation! This article highlights the best TV series of the year and features a diverse range of genres and storytelling techniques that have impressed both viewers and reviewers. With shows that thrill and make you think and talk, 2024 has proven to be a great year for television.

Streaming services have changed how we consume content in the entertainment industry, resulting in an increase in high-quality series that push the limits of storytelling. People no longer have to wait a week for the next show; now, binge-watching is common, letting viewers get lost in deep stories and complicated characters. As a result of this shift, a treasure trove of content that represents the diverse experiences of our world has been produced, which has given artists the freedom to take risks and explore novel topics.

This...

The 2014 remake of RoboCop is disappointing in many ways, but one behind-the-scenes detail makes its failure even more disheartening by showing how good it could have been. The RoboCop remake is, simply put, not a great film. It's often listed among the worst science fiction reboots of all time, and it only has 49% on Rotten Tomatoes. Given the popularity and cult-classic status of Paul Verhoeven and Peter Weller's original 1987 film, RoboCop 2014 was a major disappointment. Even Alex Murphy actor Joel Kinnaman tried to explain why RoboCop 2014 was a failure.

There are plenty of reasons why RoboCop was a bad remake, but one of them unfortunately proved that the movie could have been great. There's usually a wide range of factors that turn a good idea into an underwhelming final product. Everything from difficult developments to outside influences like poor marketing and a bad release date can help...

In this episode, we explore the profound creative bond between directors and actors.Natalia Beristáin is a celebrated Mexican film and television director with over two decades of experience. She has also worked as a casting director on more than 25 productions, including El violín by Francisco Vargas, 600 millas by Gabriel Ripstein, Abel by Diego Luna, and La jaula de oro by Diego Quemada-Diez.In 2012, she premiered her debut feature, No quiero dormir sola, at the Rotterdam Film Festival. The film went on to win the Best Mexican Feature Film Award at the Morelia International Film Festival. Natalia has since directed Los adioses and Ruido, debuting at the San Sebastián Film Festival in 2023 with this last one. Her filmography, characterized by powerful performances and deeply empathetic characters, often portrays artists navigating complex social and political contexts that challenge their connections to cinema, literature, and art.Alice Braga, on the other hand,...

With charisma and class oozing out of his very being, Colin Farrell was always the right choice to play John Sugar, the titular protagonist of Apple TV+s Sugar. Sure, we have previously seen the actor take on a similar law-enforcing role in HBOs True Detective, but Detective Ray Velcoro and Private Investigator John Sugar are two entirely different animals. A fun new approach to those classic Pi shows of yesteryear, the Mark Protosevich-created series allowed its Season 1 directors, Fernando Meirelles and Adam Arkin, to have a field day with visual style. Welcomed with open arms by both critics and audiences, the debut season holds a Certified Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes with an 81% critics approval rating. Quickly receiving a second-season order, the only bad news for Sugar fans is that theyll have to wait a bit for the next chapter in the story.

Children of the Church Steps (Os Quatro da Candelária) dropped on Netflix today. It is inspired by events that took place in Rio, Brazil, in 1993 in what has come to be known as the Candelária Massacre. Eight homeless people – aged between 11 and 19-years-old – were killed when scores of street kids living outside the Candelária Chruch in Rio were attacked. Several of the group that launched the assault were found to be police officers.

The fictionalized account tells the stories of four children in the 36 hours leading up to one of Brazil’s most tragic events. It blends the story of their lives in a harsh urban setting with dreamlike sequences. A predominantly Black cast includes breakout talent Samuel Silva, Patrick Congo, Andrei Marques and Wendy Queiroz. Established stars including Antônio Pitanga, Péricles, Leandro Firmino, Bruno Gagliasso, Maria Bopp and Stepan Nercessian also appear.

Creator Luis Lomenha and Márcia Faria share...

Reflecting the breadth of her legacy across different continents, French actor Isabelle Huppert was celebrated by the likes of Alfonso Cuarón, Claire Denis, Alejandro Jodorowsky and François Ozon at the 15th edition of the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon where she received a sprawling career tribute on Oct. 18.

Huppert kicked off the festivities as she entered the 3000-seat auditorium dancing to the 1980’s disco beats of “Nuit de folie,” dressed in a shimmery champagne gown.

The joyful ceremony, emceed by Huppert’s longtime friend (and Cannes boss) Thierry Fremaux who runs the Lumiere Film Festival, was punctuated by live musical numbers ranging widely from Camelia Jordana’s singing a capella “I Will Survive,” to Julien Clerc performing his 1978 cult song “Ma Preference” by the piano, and French actor Sandrine Kiberlain playfully singing “Nuit de folie” which was said to be Huppert’s unexpected all-time favorite song.

The most vibrant homage...

Building on a legacy that profoundly shaped national culture, ‘City of God: The Fight Rages On’ had a significant challenge to face: not only honoring the original film’s narrative but also updating the story to reflect more contemporary issues. City of God ‘City of God’ (2002) is a critically acclaimed Brazilian crime drama set in the favelas (slums) of Rio de Janeiro directed by Fernando Meirelles and co-directed by Kátia Lund. The film is based on the 1997 novel of the same name by Paulo Lins, which was inspired by real events of the rise of organized crime in the neighborhood called “Cidade de Deus” (City of God). Based on the work of the original novel’s writer Paulo Lins, the spin-off takes place twenty years after the events of the feature film, in the early 2000s. Based on the memories of Buscapé “Rocket” (Alexandre Rodrigues), the production portrays the impact of conflicts between rival gangs,...

On the heels of its series debut on August 25, HBO has renewed City of God: The Fight Rages On for a second season.

The sequel series follows the characters 20 years after the events of the award-winning 2002 film, through the lens of Wilson (Rocket), who returns to the community when a young drug dealer’s release from prison puts City of God in dispute once again. The residents end up trapped between drug dealers, militias and government authorities. However, their desire to break this cycle drives the community to unite and confront their oppressors.

The six-episode first season continues with weekly releases every Sunday at 8 pm Et/Pt on HBO Latino and streaming on Max. The second episode will debut on Sunday, September 1.

Directed by Aly Muritiba, the HBO Original series is produced by O2 Filmes, with a script by Maíra Oliveira, Patricia Andrade, and Paulo Lins. On behalf of O2 Filmes,...

The HBO Original series City of God: The Fight Rages On has been renewed for a second season. The series is a sequel to the award-winning 2002 film.

City of God: The Fight Rages On had its global debut on HBO and Max on Sunday, August 25. Details of the second season will be announced at a later date.

The series’ plot follows the characters 20 years after the events of the renowned film, through the lens of Wilson (Rocket), who returns to the community when a young drug dealer’s release from prison puts City of God in dispute once again.

The residents end up trapped between drug dealers, militias, and government authorities. However, their desire to break this cycle drives the community to unite and confront their oppressors.

The cast includes Alexandre Rodrigues, Roberta Rodrigues, Thiago Martins, Sabrina Rosa, Kiko Marques, Edson Oliveira, Andréia Horta, Marcos Palmeira, Eli Ferreira, Luellem de Castro,...

“City of God: The Fight Rages On” has been renewed for Season 2.

The news comes just days after the series debuted on HBO Latino and Max on Aug. 25. The six episode first season will continue to drop new episodes weekly on Sundays at 8 p.m. Et/Pt. The second episode will air on Sept. 1.

Per the official description, the series “follows the characters 20 years after the events of the renowned film, through the lens of Wilson (Rocket), who returns to the community when a young drug dealer’s release from prison puts City of God in dispute once again. The residents end up trapped between drug dealers, militias and government authorities. However, their desire to break this cycle drives the community to unite and confront their oppressors.”

Alexandre Rodrigues reprised his role as Wilson from the original “City of God” film, which was itself based on the novel of the same name by Paulo Lins.

It almost invariably is a pet peeve of mine when something’s said to counter a critique, and this might be the first time I’m about to do the same. Most critics’ complaint that City of God: The Fight Rages On isn’t as fiery as the original is practically holding the spin-off accountable for being authentic to the sociopolitical scenario of Brazil. And how ironic is it that when Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund’s film came out, it was widely condemned for fetishizing violence when all it did was stay grounded in reality? And then there’s the factor that, as a 2-hour long movie, City of God could afford to be one kill after another with intervals for other criminal activities. How fair would it be to expect the show to pack just as much punch while also allotting enough time to develop the characters that...

It’s only normal that there’s skepticism aplenty about the soon-to-be-out HBO original City of God: The Fight Rages on. If you’re a fan of the 2002 City of God, you’d know how much of its edge would need to be blunted for the spin-off to be palatable in today’s time. If Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund’s film was condemned for over-exploitation of violent themes back when people had stronger stomachs, the world’s certainly not ready for something in the same line now. But there’s a silver lining in City of God getting a spin-off series under a banner as reliable as HBO and Max. It’s been a while since the original masterpiece has been a part of the Zeitgeist. So, if it takes an HBO original to bring it back to the forefront again, aside from the fact that this is...

When Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund’s City of God came out in 2002, it was generally acclaimed — countless Top 10 lists, four Oscar nominations, etc. But it did not go without criticism. There were some who found the violent coming-of-age drama to be exploitative, fetishizing poverty and crime in the Brazilian favelas without digging deeper than misery.

In very meta terms, it’s a duality that haunts the lead of HBO Latino and Max’s new spinoff series, City of God: The Fight Rages On. Wilson (Alexandre Rodrigues) grew up in the sprawling lower-income suburbs of Rio de Janeiro and, after watching many of his friends and rivals die in the film’s escalating violence, found his escape through his camera. Though he’s become one of the country’s most famous photojournalists, even he’s exhausted by how much of his success has come from capturing images of death.

Wilson...

City of God realistically portrays Rio de Janeiro's favelas as not just dangerous but also complex and humanizing. City of God remains relevant as ever today, tackling ongoing issues of poverty, inequality, police brutality, and corruption in Brazilian society. A long-awaited sequel series, City of God: The Fight Rages On, set to premiere on August 25th, promises to continue the story with original and new characters.

A little over two decades ago, a Brazilian gangster epic, City of God, hit theaters for the first time and introduced the rest of the world to Brazilian favelas, which feature unique power, race, and class structures. Earning ecstatic five-star reviews from critics of all types, City of God quickly found itself compared to the rest in the crime-fiction genre, including GoodFellas and Pulp Fiction.

In many ways, City of God is much more than just a response to the advent of Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.

Spangled by stars – Steven Bauer in “My Uncle’s Movie,” Alba Flores in “The Shepherdess,” Larraín regular Alfredo Castro in “Dog Legs,” – the projects brought to Locarno’s networking confab Match Me! underscores the wealth of riches offered by emerging non-English language filmmakers from around the world.

Featuring slates from 36 producers, this year’s lineup also takes in next titles from Matīss Kaža, co-writer of Gints Zilbalodis’ Cannes hit and Annecy multiple winner “Flow,” and Chile’s Oro Films, France’s Wrong Films and the Dominican Republic’s Mentes Fritas Film Production, who backed respectively Argentine genre auteur standout “To Kill the Beast,” Sundance Sundance Jury Prize winner “Animalia” and SXSW Audience Award laureate “Bionico’s Bachata.”

A quick take on 2024’s Match Me! also underscores how how a global arthouse sector is increasingly – and excitingly – ever more mixing it up.

That cuts multiple ways. Doc/fiction titles and genre tropes and blending abound.

Matching the high-paced style of City of God in a TV series will be challenging without the original creative team. City of God: The Fight Rages On faces the difficulty of expanding storylines and maintaining the impactful visuals of the film. Legacy sequel TV series have struggled in the past, such as The Full Monty and Willow series, showing the uphill battle for City of God: The Fight Rages On.

In an age dominated by legacy sequels, it is becoming increasingly rare for successful one-off films to remain that way. The next film to be revisited is 2002s City of God, an epic crime film directed by Fernando Meirelles and Ktia Lund. The film, written by Brulo Mantovani, is based on the 1997 novel of the same name by Paulo Lins. City of God follows several interconnected stories across the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, with a specific focus on the story of Busca-p,...

This August, Paramount+ is bringing you a lot of entertainment with the highly anticipated streaming release of the biographical film Bob Marley: One Love and a very weird but humorous and heartfelt film Sasquatch Sunset, which follows the daily lives of a Sasquatch family. However, for the purposes of this article, we are only including the films that are coming to Paramount+ this month and have a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score. So, check out the 10 best films that are coming to Paramount+ in August 2024 with a 90% or higher Rotten Tomatoes score.

Airplane! (August 1)

Airplane! is a disaster absurdist comedy film written and directed by Jim Abrahams, David, and Jerry Zucker. Based on the 1957 drama film Zero Hour! by Arthur Hailey, Hall Bartlett, and John Champion, the 1980 film follows Ted Striker, a former pilot with a fear of flying as he finds himself in the impossible situation of landing a...

As House of the Dragon Season 2 comes to an end on August 4, Max subscribers will be wondering about what’s next. The Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service has a lot to offer in the upcoming month including as many classic and new content comes out on the service. Just like every month there is a lot of content on the way and just like every month, we have sorted out the best movies and TV shows you should invest your time in. So, here are the 7 best movies and TV shows coming to Max in August 2024.

Beetlejuice (August 1)

Beetlejuice is a fantasy comedy horror movie directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay co-written by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren. The 1988 film follows the story of a ghost married couple Barbara and Adam, who lead a peaceful life but when their house gets sold to new people, they call on the...

City Of God: The Fight Rages On is a television sequel to the acclaimed 2002 film, City Of God. Here’s the trailer.

City Of God is a modern classic, insofar as 2002 can be considered modern. Written by Bráulio Mantovani and directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, the film received praise for its stark depiction of the lives of its characters and for filming in real favelas in Rio de Janeiro. It went on to be nominated for four Oscars and is often cited as one of the best films of the 21st century.

A spin-off television drama, City Of Men, ran for four series in 2002 to 2005, which was adapted into a film in 2007.

Back in the present, City Of God: The Fight Rages On is described as a direct sequel to the film, with Alexandre Rodrigues – who played budding photographer Rocket in the original 2002 film – reprising his role.

The...

“City of God: The Fight Rages On” is a 6-episode sequel to a 2002 ‘crime drama’ series, directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, starring Alexandre Rodrigues, Roberta Rodrigues, Thiago Martins, Sabrina Rosa, Kiko Marques, Edson Oliveira, Andréia Horta, Marcos Palmeira, Eli Ferreira, Luellem de Castro, Jefferson Brasil, Otávio Linhares, Rafael Lozano, Leandro Daniel, and Luiz Bertazzo, streaming August 25, 2024 on Max:

“…two decades have passed as a photojournalist finds himself dropped into an ongoing drug war. The battle for control over the ‘City of God’ rages on, as ‘Rocket’ finds himself caught up in a daily fight that only seems to escalate.

“Then a young drug dealer from prison puts ‘Cidade de Deus’ right back into conflict. As residents become ensnared between drug traffickers, militias and public authorities, the need to escape this cycle makes the community unite to face the oppression…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

"Someone needs to tell this story." HBO has revealed the first official trailer for a streaming series called City of God: The Fight Rages On, a long-awaited legacy sequel to the iconic masterpiece Brazilian film City of God (from 2002). There was already a sort-of-sequel made in 2007 called City of Men, but it had mixed reviews and didn't make much of an impact. This new series follows the very same kid, Rocket (aka Buscapé), and stars Alexandre Rodrigues bringing him back 22 years after starring in the original. The series will follow in the footsteps of the film by Fernando Meirelles and will also be based on Paulo Lins’ book "City of God”. It's set two decades after that of the original, following the current lives of the characters seen in the 2002 film – showing what happened to them. With excerpts used in flashbacks to reconstruct memories and affective recollections. The cast includes: Roberta Rodrigues,...

The I.P. proverb remains true: if you’ve got a popular film brand, a spin-off on television seems inevitable. While it’s more than 20 years later, “City Of God: The Fight Rages On” is a spin-off series based on the Oscar-nominated “City Of God” crime thriller which launched the career of Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles (though it was also co-directed by Kátia Lund).

Continue reading ‘City Of God’ Trailer: ‘The Fight Rages On’ In New TV Spin-Off Of Beloved Oscar-Winning Film at The Playlist.

Movies always go through a number of changes between an idea in the shower to streaming from your couch, whether minor (your protagonist now wears leather jackets instead of tweed suits) to major (he’s also a wild stunt man instead of a quiet professor). It’s not uncommon, for example, to lighten up some dark source material for a broader audience, so you know when the opposite occurs — a comedy becomes a heavy drama or high-stakes thriller — some choices were made.

5 Alien

We’re usually relegated to merely imagining what a movie might have been like if it had been taken in a different direction, but in the case of Alien, we can see it. It started as Dark Star (which itself started as John Carpenter’s USC master’s thesis), a comedy featuring an alien very obviously made out of a beach ball. “I went away from Dark Star...

Max has just announced that the HBO Original series City of God: The Fight Rages On will premiere on Sunday, August 25, on HBO Latino in the U.S. and will be available to stream globally on Max, where the platform is available.

Produced by O2 Filmes, the series takes place two decades after the events of the internationally award-winning film. The six episodes will be released weekly every Sunday until September 29th.

City of God: The Fight Rages On

City of God: The Fight Rages On is an adapted continuation of Paulo Lins’s literary work and tells the story of its characters, taking the work of the photographer Buscapé as a starting point. The plot unfolds in the early 2000s when the release of a young drug dealer from prison puts Cidade de Deus back into dispute.

Residents find themselves trapped between drug traffickers, militias, and public authorities, but...

Brazilian social impact entertainment company Maria Farinha Films is expanding stateside by opening a Los Angeles office operated by U.S. producer Miura Kite, formerly EVP of global television at Participant, who is joining as president of global content.

Kite’s producer credits at the now-shuttered Participant include the upcoming Taiki Waititi-directed show “Interior Chinatown” that will premiere on Hulu this fall. She previously worked with Maria Farinha Films on “Esperanza,” an adventure drama jointly developed with Participant that tracks the crew of the titular vessel as they fight for environmental and social rights around the world, with award-winning director Fernando Meirelles as co-showrunner.

For the São Paulo-based company that is a leading Latin American studio, known for its hit Globoplay Original “Aruanas,” setting up a Los Angeles outpost is part of a broader expansion plan.

Maria Farinha Films last month announced it had taken a minority stake in Joanna Natasegara...

Donald Sutherland, the Canadian actor who delivered memorable turns in films like Don’t Look Now, Klute, and The Hunger Games, has died. He was 88.

Sutherland’s son, the actor Kiefer Sutherland, announced the death on social media. ”I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film,” Sutherland wrote. ”Never daunted by a role, good, bad, or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.”

Sutherland passed away in Miami after a long, unspecified illness and leaves an indelible impression on the arts.

Exclusive: M88 has signed filmmaker Alexandre Moratto for representation.

Moratto’s debut feature film Socrates, made with Unicef on a budget of $20k with a cast and crew of teenagers from São Paulo’s low-income communities, earned him the ‘Someone to Watch’ Independent Spirit Award.

The film follows the titular character, a Black teen from the coast of Brazill and his journey to overcome poverty, grief following his mother’s death and homophobia. It was produced by directors Ramin Bahrani (The White Tiger) and Fernando Meirelles (City of God), who also produced his sophomore feature Netflix’s 7 Prisoners.

The film, starring Christian Malheiros and Rodrigo Santoro, follows Mateus, a poor 18-year-old from rural Brazil who leaves home for what sounds like a solid opportunity—a job at a metal scrapyard in São Paulo, earning enough money to help support his mother and sisters back home. Matheus and a small...

As part of a strategy to build a new cinephile audience and revive the filmgoing experience in Brazil, São Paulo-based distributor O2 Play is theatrically releasing a selection of classic films, starting with A24’s 4K restored version of the seminal ‘80s Talking Heads concert docu, “Stop Making Sense” by Jonathan Demme.

The company has also launched an app called “carteirinha de cinéfilo” (cinephile card), to offer moviegoers special discounts, collectibles and foster the theatrical experience.

“Available at the App Store and Google store, we decided to launch it to help engage our audience and bring them back to theaters,” said O2 Play founder Igor Kupstas who laments the universal decline in cinema attendance since the pandemic, felt in Brazil and most parts of the world.

According to Kupstas, who launched O2 Play in 2013, talks are underway with traditional and IMAX screen owners for the premiere of “Stop Making Sense...

Exclusive: Netflix Brazil is bringing Paulo Coelho’s The Pilgrimage to the screen. The streamer has greenlit a film adaptation of the Brazilian author’s novel, which will shoot in Brazil and Spain.

The commission was announced during Netflix’s session at the Rio2C market in Brazil and Coelho shared the news in a video message for attendees. Rio based Migdal Filmes will produce.

The Pilgrimage, first published in 1987, is one of Coelho’s early novels. In the book, he recounts a journey across Spain on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. He is accompanied by a spiritual guide and mentor and the novel deals with the main protagonist’s quest for spiritual learning and fulfilment.

Another adaptation in the works for Netflix hails from Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles and his son Quico Meirelles. They will jointly helm a miniseries based on Edyr Augusto’s novel Pssica.

Andrea Barata Ribeiro...

Amanda Burrell and Susan Downey hint at a rich future for The Sympathizer, with focus on character depth and narrative possibilities. Robert Downey Jr. emphasizes the need to perfect season 1 before exploring sequels, drawing on past experiences for caution. The potential for The Sympathizer to continue past season 1 is fueled by critical acclaim and audience response.

Amanda Burrell and Susan Downey, the producers of HBOs adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyens Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer, recently shared updates on the potential for a second season. The series, a collaborative effort between HBO and A24, has garnered attention for its nuanced storytelling and star-studded cast, including Hoa Xuande and Robert Downey Jr., under the directorial guidance of Park Chan-wook.

During their interview with TheWrap, Burrell and Downey's excitement were evident. Burrell expressed a profound connection to the series characters and the narrative possibilities that lie ahead. She highlighted the ongoing passion of Nguyen for his characters,...

"City of God" is so much more than just Brazil's answer to "GoodFellas,". One of the most acclaimed Brazilian films of all time, Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund's 2001 masterpiece is a portrait of Rio de Janeiro and its reality, the ugly and the beautiful sides of it. Set in the favelas of Rio in the '70s, the film centers on two men, each following a different path they say is forced on them by their Dickensian circumstances. One becomes a photographer documenting the drug-related violence that is rapidly increasing in the neighborhood, while the other becomes an ambitious drug dealer climbing the ladder.

In addition to gathering universal acclaim for its acting, cinematography, writing and portrayal of the favelas, "City of God" also got four nominations at the Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director. Now, over 20 years after the release of the original, Max has announced a sequel series.

Warning: Spoilers lie ahead for Sugar season 1!

Executive producer Audrey Chon is excited about Sugar season 2. Apple TV+ has yet to renew the show, but Chon shares ideas about evolving the main character. Storylines from season 1 would continue if the show returns.

Sugar season 2 gets an optimistic update from producer Audrey Chon. Debuting in April, the Apple TV+ Original follows Colin Farrell as private investigator John Sugar as he tries to solve the mystery of a disappearance that's tied to the wealthy Siegel family. With a cast that also includes Kirby, Amy Ryan, Dennis Boutsikaris, Nate Corddry, Alex Hernandez, Anna Gunn, Sydney Chandler, and James Cromwell, Sugar made headlines for a twist that isn't revealed until late in the story.

In an interview with TheWrap, Chon gave an optimistic update on the chances of Sugar season 2. Chon, an executive producer alongside Farrell, talked about the twist and how the story...

If Heat and The Insider are agreed upon as Michael Mann’s all-time best films, what is the director’s most underrated feature to date? Is it Thief? The Keep? Manhunter? Public Enemies? Nah. There’s only one acceptable answer: 2004’s criminally overlooked nocturnal neo-noir Collateral. Featuring a rare villainous turn by Tom Cruise and a restrained Oscar-nominated performance by Jamie Foxx, the L.A. crime story was the first film in history to utilize the Viper FilmStream High Definition Camera. The digital format that David Fincher would later adopt for use on Zodiac and Benjamin Button. Beyond the cutting-edge technology, the remote locations Mann and his production team gave viewers a much different glimpse of Los Angeles away from the glamor of Hollywood and into the seedy, sinister parts of town rarely seen on the big screen.

Believe it or not, Collateral was conceived by screenwriter Stuart Beattie when...

The Apple TV+ original series Sugar, starring Colin Farrell as accomplished private investigator John Sugar, surprised audiences with a massive twist at the end of its sixth episode. As Sugar’s investigation into the missing alleged granddaughter of a movie mogul veered into dark and violent areas of Los Angeles, Sugar himself was revealed to be an extraterrestrial joining a small group observing Earth and humanity. This reframed the presumed neo-noir tale as a science fiction one, growing more complex as Sugar realizes he’s not only against nefarious kidnappers but a sinister figure within his own otherworldly community.

In an exclusive interview with Den of Geek, Sugar co-showrunner and executive producer Simon Kinberg unpacks the first season’s big twist, explains the deeper themes within the show, and details the implications of the season finale for a potential season 2.

Den of Geek: Now that we talk about this openly,...

Ethan Hawke takes on a challenging role in Brazil's Amazon in The Last of the Tribe, exploring morality and personal redemption. Indigenous activist Zaya Guarani joins the cast, enhancing the story with personal experiences and dedication to environmental causes. The global impact of Indigenous rights and environmental preservation is at the forefront of the film, seeking international support and distribution.

Ethan Hawke is stepping into the perilous confines of Brazil's Amazon for his latest role in the thriller The Last of the Tribe. The actor will portray William Phelan, a former Chicago police officer who now works as a private mercenary.

According to Variety, his latest assignment pulls him into the heart of the jungle with a mission that challenges the essence of his morality: the assassination of the last known member of an uncontacted tribe. This positions Phelan at a critical point, offering him an opportunity for personal redemption.

In Hollywood, director Fernando Meirelles is known for critically acclaimed films like “City of God” and “The Constant Gardner.” His TV work had been confined to Brazil, which, he discovered while shooting the Apple TV+ series “Sugar,” was nothing like American TV production.

“My first impression [was] the size, the scale of the whole thing, it’s a big circus,” Meirelles told IndieWire. “You’re tied into this big machine, and you’re piloting the machine, but the machine is also taking you. It’s an interesting experience, much different from what I was used to, but I really enjoyed it.”

Meirelles description makes it sound like he was an important cog in the big wheel of TV production, which, of course, is common for directors who enjoy more autonomy of smaller films. Except “Sugar” does not move, look, or feel like anything on American TV. The coverage and cutting patterns are anything but conventional.

Few companies in the world have had such as impact on their local film industry than Globo Filmes, the feature co-production arm of Brazilian giant Globo, which is Latin America’s biggest communications conglomerate. Over the last 25 years, Globo Filmes has backed more than 500 movies, almost all through co-production.

Those films have collectively sold 260 million cinema theater admissions, an average of over 10 million admissions a year, accounting for more than 70% of Brazilian market share from 1998-2024.

Globo Filmes greenlights more than 20 movies a year, powering up by far the biggest production slate of any company in Brazil, thanks to article 3A of the country’s audiovisual law, which allows it to tap tax incentives for investing in feature films.

Launching in 1998, Globo Filmes helped accelerate the Brazilian film industry’s recovery after President Fernando Collor de Mello shuttered state film agency Embrafilme in 1990, paralyzing production. Twenty-five years later, after a...

Four-time Academy Award-nominated Ethan Hawke is attached to star in “The Last of the Tribe,” a jungle thriller set in Brazil’s Amazon. Written by Mark Bailey, “The Last of the Tribe” is produced by Brazil’s Academy Award-nominated Fernando Meirelles and Academy Award-winning producer Ed Saxon.

Hawke is set to play William Phelan — a washed-out Chicago cop turned corporate gun-for-hire — who finds himself in a wildly unfamiliar landscape, his assignment the murder of the last surviving member of an uncontacted Indigenous tribe.

“A broken man standing at an unlikely crossroads, Phelan is given the chance to save a life and reclaim his soul,” the film’s synopsis runs.

Hawke will be joined by the Indigenous Brazilian actress-model Zaya Guarani, born in the Amazon’s Port Velho. Seen in Darren Aronofsky’s “Postcard From Earth,” the environmental activist has used her visibility as a fashion model to further her advocacy...

Quick Links What Major Aspects of The Sympathizer Remained the Same? What Are the Differences Between The Sympathizer Show and the Novel? What Difference Benefits The Sympathizer TV Series? The Sympathizer is a faithful adaptation, balancing realism and humor for an engaging historical fiction experience. The series follows Hoa Xuande's dual identity as a Communist spy in the South Vietnamese police force. Non-linear storytelling adds depth to characters like the General and re-education sequences, enhancing thematic impact.

As a whole, HBO's The Sympathizer is a faithful adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize for Fiction-winning novel. A complex tale of deception, hollow allegiances, and political intrigue, it's one of the better historical fiction novels of the 2010s. It also excels in being as realistic as it is humorous, allowing for a balance that makes the 400+ page novel a breeze to read through.

Park Chan-wook's limited series isn't much different,...