BONITO CINESUR – 2026
Bonito South American Film Festival – 2026 | BRAZIL
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela.
Competitive sections of South American cinema featuring unreleased feature-length and short films produced between 2025 and 2026;
Competitive sections of South American environmental-themed feature-length and short films produced between 2025 and 2026;
Competitive section of Mato Grosso do Sul cinema with films produced between 2025 and 2026;
Parallel section of South American children’s and youth cinema; Special screenings;
Awards, debates, and discussion forums aimed at international agreements;
Exchange with leading filmmakers and festival organizers from South America;
Workshops for children and the general community, as well as workshops for cinema and audiovisual professionals and academics.
ECOTOURISM, CULTURE AND CINEMA
In the heart of Brazil, Bonito is part of the Serra da Bodoquena National Park and one of the most important ecotourism destinations in the country.
Mato Grosso do Sul borders Bolivia and Paraguay, from which the state has received strong cultural influences that shape the ethnic identity of its people.
Bonito has just over twenty thousand inhabitants, and it is in this charming town that crystal-clear rivers, waterfalls, caves, and some of the most beautiful landscapes can be found. A cultural hub of Mato Grosso do Sul, Bonito hosts literary festivals, jazz festivals, and the Winter Festival.
Bonito CineSur 2026 – Bonito South American Film Festival
A meeting and integration space for South American cinema and audiovisual production, showcasing its best films and bringing together professionals from all countries of the continent.
In 2025, its third edition enriched the cultural calendar of the city, the country, and the continent by screening 68 films from 10 South American countries, across 120 hours of free programming.
In 2024, its second edition enriched the cultural calendar of the city, the country, and the continent with the screening of 42 films from 10 South American countries, totaling 120 hours of free programming.
Bonito CineSur has received wide coverage in the local and national press and, in 2024, grew in size and relevance with the participation of 40 public and private institutions, directly reaching 5,000 people and fostering the local creative economy through the hiring of 200 professional services, technical equipment, as well as hotels, restaurants, and transportation.
• THE FESTIVAL REACHED MORE THAN 180,000 PEOPLE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA.
In 2025, Bonito CineSur – South American Film Festival will occupy central spaces in the city of Bonito and will continue advancing the consolidation of the culture–environment–tourism convergence, cinematographically connecting South America, highlighting environmental themes, and internationally promoting the tourist destination of Bonito and Brazil.
TEAM
NILSON RODRIGUES – Director
Producer of the films The Other Side of Paradise (2015) and The Shepherd and the Guerrilla (2022). Former director of the Brasília International Film Festival (2012–2017) and of Bonito CineSur (2023 and 2024).
ANDREA FREIRE – Coordinator
Coordinator of the Bonito Winter Festival (2000–2006, 2015 and 2016); coordinator of the Vídeo Índio Brasil Showcase (2009) and Bonito CineSur (2023 | 2024).
GUSTAVO DE ARRUDA CASTELO (Cegonha) – Coordinator
Cultural producer; coordinator of Temporadas Populares (1999–2002); General Director of the Mato Grosso do Sul Culture Foundation (2020–2022); Coordinator of Bonito CineSur (2024).
THERESA HILCAR – Coordinator
Journalist, columnist, press officer, and TV producer. Active in the Mato Grosso do Sul press for 35 years, having worked for the most important media outlets. Author of five books and two anthologies. Member of the Mato Grosso do Sul Academy of Letters.
JOSÉ GERALDO COUTO – Curator
Journalist, translator, and film critic. Contributor to the Moreira Salles Institute. Translator of literary works by Henry James, Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, Martin Scorsese, Nelson Mandela, among others.
CECÍLIA DIEZ – Curator
University professor; general producer of the Mar del Plata International Film Festival (2021–23) and Ventana Sur (2022–23).
RODRIGO FONSECA – Curator
Curator, critic, and researcher of Brazilian cinema, known for his work curating film exhibitions and festivals, as well as for his work as a journalist and professor.
LUCIANA DRUZINA – Children and Youth Section Curator
Director of Druzina Content, where she has been producing animation series, films, fiction, and games for over fifteen years. Curator of the children and youth parallel section of Bonito CineSur (2023 and 2024).
ELIS REGINA – Environmental Cinema Section Curator
Curator of the Cine Comitiva Showcase at the Comitiva dos Chefs Festival (2019), the Comida em Movimento – Cinema and Gastronomy Festival (2023), and the South American environmental cinema showcase at Bonito CineSur (2023 and 2024).
MARCOS PIERRY – Mato Grosso do Sul Cinema Section Curator
Journalist, critic, audiovisual curator, screenwriter, short filmmaker, and film professor. Master’s degree from USP and PhD from UFMG. Member of the Brazilian Association of Film Critics (Abraccine). Curator of the Mato Grosso do Sul cinema showcase at Bonito CineSur (2024).
BONITO CINESUR – Bonito South American Film Festival
Produced by – Friends of Cinema and Culture Association (AACIC)
A private non-profit organization founded in 2007, which has been developing cultural, educational, and training projects for over fifteen years. Its activities include projects such as Cinesurdo, Cinema at School, Contemporary Dialogues, Popular Cinema Circuit, Cinema in Schools, and the Youth Festival.
Its experience and technical capacity in developing and carrying out activities in the field of cinema, as well as in education, training, and culture in general, have been certified by the Education, Health, and Culture Commission of the Federal District Legislative Chamber and by the University of Brasília.
CONTACT
AACIC Executive Secretariat
DULCINEIA MIRANDA
aacicbonitosur@gmail.com
+55 (61) 98119-5417
