Distributor reinforces trajectory marked by national and international launches, and will be honored at EXPOCINE 2025
A Showcase Movies, commanded by Silvia Cruz, reaches the 15 years consolidated as one of the main independent film distributors in Brazil. Founded in 2010, the company built a trajectory that unites artistic prestige and dialogue with different audiences, betting on long copyright and revealing new looks for the audiovisual. This year, the company will be honored at EXPOCINE 25.
"Since I was very young I realized that cinema was more than entertainment. It was a way of thinking about the world and sharing different looks. This was the seed of the display", says Silvia. In fact, part of the interview was taken from podcast ♪ I hate Cynema ♪, in a partnership between Tonks (conglomerate holding the rights of the Portal Exhibition and Expocine) and the AdoroCinemaWhile some questions were answered exclusively to our vehicle.
The executive says that since the creation of Vitrine, the distributor proposed to fill a gap little explored in the national market, leading to cinema productions that would hardly have room in traditional circuits at the time. This commitment has unfolded into projects that contribute to creating a more interested audience in narratives outside the commercial standard only.
"There are films we end up enjoying not only for the story, but for what they mean in their moment, in their context. No doubt there needs to be a match, but these matches can be many," explains Silvia.
With the experience of more than a decade, Silvia says she has learned to balance copyright bets with larger-range productions. Among the company’s most striking initiatives is the View Session, which works as a real public training laboratory. The creation of the European Mannequin Movies, Seal aimed at more commercial films, which supports the diversity of the catalogue. The idea is simple: if a title conquers large audience, the company manages to keep others that do not depend on expressive box office numbers, but are fundamental to broaden looks in national cinema, as Silvia told in the interview.
Over the years, the display was also ahead of emblematic launches, such as Bacurau (2019) and Aquarius (2016), which not only won expressive box office, but also circulated in international festivals, reinforcing the reach of Brazilian cinema abroad.
This movement is reflected in another achievement: the presence of titles in pre-selection campaigns to Oscar. Although the dispute is tough, the strategy contributes to put national cinema in the spotlight before the Academy and the American market.
The close relationship with filmmakers has been another differential, building long-lasting partnerships, accompanying directors from the first long to the consolidation of their careers. "We have followed careers since the first films, as in the case of Kleber Mendonça. This proximity is fundamental for the distributor to grow together with filmmakers," says Silvia.
In the recent line-up of the showcase movies, stand out The Last Blueby Gabriel Mascaro - already released on the last day 28 -, and The Secret Agent, from the very Kléber Mendonça Filho, marked to debut commercially on November 6 this year. The works illustrate well the range of the distributor where they point to intimate copyright productions to gender narratives, which conquer diverse audiences.
Speaking of the two movies, The Last Blue it happens in a dystopian Brazil, in which the government determines the compulsory transfer of elderly to "colonies", and Tereza, 77 years old, decides to face the system and leave on a journey far from what the government has determined. The film debuted in competition at the 75th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival 2025 and won the Silver Bear in the Jury Grand Prix category. In Brazil, in addition to being on display, also opened this year's Gramado Festival.
Already. The Secret Agent, set between Recife and São Paulo, accompanies a man involved in a political espionage game. The first performance was in the Cannes 2025 competition, from which it came out with the Best Direction (Kléber) and Best Actor (Wagner Moura). A Neon acquired the rights to North America and the brazilian launch, is on account of the Vitrine.
"It all started with the title. 'The Secret Agent' already existed as a name even before history took shape. He stayed in Kleber's head and was the starting point for all the changes that came after. But the title remained," recalls Silvia.
In addition to curating works, the company acts actively in dialogue with displayers. This bridge has been essential to ensure space for independent films in commercial rooms, traditionally dominated by international blockbusters.
"There's a figure that belongs to the sales agent, let's say, the distributor of the film in the world. His role is to sell the film to many territories and also this festival career, to help placate the film that it is well received," Silvia says.
This effort to connect films, filmmakers and audience finds an important stage in EXPOCINE 2025. . Considered the largest meeting in Latin America for distributors and displays, the event was consolidated as a strategic space to discuss trends, challenges and paths of the sector. It is in this environment of exchange and projection of releases that the Vitrine It reinforces your performance.
"Expocine is extremely important. It is a great meeting of distributors and displays that today also has the presence of students, with the proposal to talk about the market. Expocine goes beyond talking about the next releases, as it addresses topics in the sector, a meeting that is very important. Especially since we haven't had this personal, face-to-face meeting for a while. Distributors know and re-find our first large audience, which are the cinemas," explains the executive.
Another important aspect of the proposal for a Vitrine it is the incentive to productions that represent the brazilian diversity. Throughout the company's history, geographical decentralization and plurality of voices have always been criteria for choosing and strengthening new narratives.
According to Silvia, cinema is reaffirmed as a meeting space, exchange and, mainly, of formation of critical thinking, with the commitment to collective experience at the center of action. Commenting on the revival movement of some classics in a remastered way: "It's wonderful. Choices are always hard, like any choice, right? Because it's a market with so many movies that makes you want to go on Cinemateca and restore them all. And there are more people going in that movement."
At the age of 15, the Showcase Movies not only celebrates conquests, but projects the future. The goal, as highlighted, is to continue balancing copyright narratives and works of greater scope, without losing sight of the mission of giving visibility to different views on Brazil and the world.
This route confirms the distributor as a fundamental agent in strengthening the national audiovisual, articulating market, festivals and public in a gear that continues turning in favor of independent cinema.
View Movies at EXPOCINE 2025
A Showcase Movies presents its line-up of releases 2025/2026 on October 3rd, from 10:30am to 12pm, Barco Sala no Cine Marquise (Avenida Paulista, 2.073). The meeting is part of the official program of the fair and reinforces the presence of the distributor in the largest event in the sector in Latin America.
"Celebrating 15 years is looking back proudly, but also projecting the next steps. And nothing better than doing this at EXPOCINE, in direct contact with people who move this market," Silvia concludes.
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