Bonito Cinesur 2026 - Festival De Cinema Sul-americano De Bonito (4)

映画祭の開始: 24 7月 2026      映画祭の終了: 01 8月 2026

Bonito CineSur – South American Film Festival – 2026

The heart of South American cinema beats in Bonito

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela

Competitive screenings of new South American feature films and short films produced between 2025 and 2026;

Parallel exhibition of South American children’s animation films;

Competitive screening of environmental-themed films;

Competitive screening of films from Mato Grosso do Sul, produced between 2025 and 2026;

Awards, debates, and roundtable discussions aimed at international cooperation;

Workshops for professionals, film and audiovisual academics, and local residents;

Exchange with leading South American film festival directors.

VENUES

Bonito Convention Center and public squares.

ECOTOURISM, CULTURE AND CINEMA

In the heart of Brazil, the city of Bonito is part of the Serra da Bodoquena National Park and is one of the most important ecotourism destinations in the country.

Mato Grosso do Sul borders Bolivia and Paraguay, from where it has received strong cultural influences that shape the ethnic identity of its people.

Bonito has approximately twenty thousand inhabitants and, in this charming city, there are crystal-clear rivers, waterfalls, caves, and some of the most beautiful landscapes in Brazil’s Midwest. As a cultural hub of Mato Grosso do Sul, Bonito hosts literary and jazz festivals, as well as a winter festival.

Bonito CineSur is a space for meeting and integration of South American cinema and audiovisual production, presenting the most recent works and bringing together professionals from across the continent.

In 2025, its third edition enriched the cultural calendar of the city, the country, and the continent with the screening of 63 films from 10 South American countries, in 120 hours of free programming.

Bonito CineSur received wide coverage in local and national media, with 1,665 published news pieces, reaching more than 619 thousand people on social media. It grew in size and relevance with the participation of 60 public and private institutions, reaching 9,000 people and fostering the local creative economy through the hiring of 250 professional services, including production, technical equipment, hotels, restaurants, and transportation, generating income and visibility.

In 2026, Bonito CineSur will continue to occupy venues throughout the city of Bonito and will further consolidate the convergence between culture, environment, and tourism, promoting South American cinematic exchange, highlighting environmental issues, and internationally promoting the tourist destination of Bonito and our beloved Brazil.

TEAM

NILSON RODRIGUES – Director
Producer of the films “O Outro Lado do Paraíso” (2015) and “O Pastor e o Guerrilheiro” (2022). Nilson served as director of the Festival de Brasília do Cinema Brasileiro (1995, 1997, 1998, and 2011) and of the Brasília International Film Festival (2012 to 2017), as well as Bonito CineSur (2023 to 2026).

ANDREA FREIRE – Coordinator
Coordinator of the Bonito Winter Festival (2000 to 2006, 2015, and 2016); coordinator of the Festival América do Sul (2004, 2005, 2015, and 2016); coordinator of the Vídeo Índio Brasil Showcase (2009); of the audiovisual production course Mídias Contemporâneas Narrativas Populares (2010); director, researcher, and screenwriter of the audiovisual series EVOÉ – Dramatic Stories in Campo Grande (2021). Coordinator of Bonito CineSur (2023 to 2026).

GUSTAVO DE ARRUDA CASTELO (Cegonha) – Coordinator
Cultural producer, coordinator of Temporadas Populares (1999 to 2002); General Director of the Mato Grosso do Sul Culture Foundation (2020 to 2022); Coordinator of Bonito CineSur (2023 to 2026).

JOSÉ GERALDO COUTO – Curator
Born in Jaú, São Paulo, in 1957, he is a journalist, translator, and film critic. He worked for more than twenty years at Folha de S. Paulo newspaper and currently works at the Moreira Salles Institute. He has translated works by Henry James, Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, Martin Scorsese, and Nelson Mandela, among others.

CECILIA DIEZ – Curator
University professor and general producer of the Mar del Plata International Film Festival (2021–2023) and Ventana Sur (2022–2023).

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 – Director of Druzina Content, where for over fifteen years she has produced animated series, films, fiction, and games distributed in more than fifty countries across various platforms and channels. Curator of the children’s parallel program of Bonito CineSur (2023 to 2026).

ELIS REGINA – Curator of the Environmental Film Section Journalist, has worked as a curator at several events, including Comitiva dos Chefs Festival Movie Showcase (2019); Making Of Showcase – O Cinema Está Aqui – Festcine América do Sul (2014); A Imagem do Índio – Vídeo Índio Brasil(2014 and 2015); Comida em Movimento Festival – Cinema and Gastronomy (2023); and the Bonito CineSur South American Environmental Film Festival (2023 to 2026).

MARCOS PIERRY – Curator of the Mato Grosso do Sul Film Section, Journalist, critic, audiovisual curator, screenwriter, short film director, and film professor. He holds a Master’s degree from USP and a PhD from UFMG. Member of the Brazilian Association of Film Critics (Abraccine). Curator of the Mato Grosso do Sul film section of Bonito CineSur (2024 and 2026).

BONITO CINESUR – South American Film Festival
Production – Associação Amigos do Cinema e da Cultura – AACIC

The Associação Amigos do Cinema e da Cultura – AACIC is a private, non-profit organization founded in 2007, which has been developing cultural, educational, and training projects for over fifteen years.

The association’s experience and technical capacity to develop and carry out activities in the field of cinema, as well as in education, training, and culture in general, have been officially recognized by the Education, Health, and Culture Commission of the Legislative Chamber of Brasília and by the University of Brasília.

現金賞: 9,200€

AWARDS

● Official Jury Prize for Best South American Feature Film: R$ 20,000.00 and Pantanal Trophy

● Official Jury Prize for Best South American Short Film: R$ 7,500.00 and Pantanal Trophy

● Official Jury Award for Best South American Environmental Feature Film: R$ 15.000.00 and Pantanal Trophy

● Official Jury Award for Best South American Environmental Short Film: R$ 7,500.00 and Pantanal Trophy

● Official Jury Award for Best Film in Mato Grosso do Sul: R$ 7,500.00 and Pantanal Trophy

● Popular Jury Award for Best South American Feature Film: Pantanal Trophy

● Popular Jury Award for Best South American Short Film: Pantanal Trophy

● Popular Jury Award for Best South American Environmental Feature Film: Troféu Pantanal

● Popular Jury Award for Best South American Environmental Short Film: Pantanal Trophy

● Popular Jury Award for Best Film in Mato Grosso do Sul: Troféu Pantanal

Bonito CineSur – South American Film Festival – 2026

Rules

CHAPTER I – ORGANIZATION

Art. 1 The Bonito CineSur 2026 – Bonito South American Film Festival will be held in the city of Bonito, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil, from July 24 to August 1, 2026, and is organized by the Associação Amigos do Cinema e da Cultura – AACIC, with the support of public and private institutions.

Paragraph 1: The activities of Bonito CineSur 2026 – Bonito South American Film Festival will take place in venues equipped to host film screenings in accordance with international standards in the city of Bonito, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

Paragraph 2: The Bonito South American Film Festival 2026 will feature, in its program, five competitive sections: one dedicated to South American feature films, one to South American short films, one to films from Mato Grosso do Sul, one to South American environmental feature films, and one to South American environmental short films, in addition to a parallel section with South American films aimed at children and youth, special screenings, and educational activities.

CHAPTER II – COMPETITIVE SECTIONS

Art. 2 The competitive section for South American feature films will consist of 6 (six) films.

Art. 3 The competitive section for South American short films will consist of 6 (six) films.

Art. 4 The competitive section for films from Mato Grosso do Sul will consist of 6 (six) films, which may be feature-length, medium-length, or short films.

Art. 5 The competitive section for South American environmental feature films will consist of 6 (six) films.

Art. 6 The competitive section for South American environmental short films will consist of 6 (six) films.

Art. 7 The films selected for the competitive sections will compete for the following Official Jury awards: Best South American Feature Film, Best South American Short Film, Best Film from Mato Grosso do Sul, Best South American Environmental Feature Film, and Best South American Environmental Short Film. They will also compete for the Pantanal Trophy in the following Audience Jury categories: Best South American Feature Film, Best South American Short Film, Best Film from Mato Grosso do Sul, Best South American Environmental Feature Film, and Best South American Environmental Short Film.

CHAPTER III – PARALLEL SECTION

Art. 8 The South American children and youth film section will feature a selection of feature and short films intended for children and young audiences, and will be organized into sessions appropriate to each age group.

CHAPTER IV – FILMS

Art. 9 Only films completed in 2025 and 2026 and previously unreleased in the Brazilian market may be screened in the South American film and South American environmental film competitive sections of Bonito CineSur 2026.

Paragraph 1: Feature-length films are defined as those with a running time exceeding seventy minutes.

Art. 10 Films by producers established in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, completed between 2025 and 2026, may be screened in the Mato Grosso do Sul competitive section of Bonito CineSur 2026 – Bonito South American Film Festival, and may be short-length, medium-length, or feature-length films.

Paragraph 1: Medium-length films are defined as those with a running time exceeding twenty minutes and equal to or less than seventy minutes.

Art. 11 Only works that have not been commercially released in Brazil will be accepted.

Art. 12 Films in all sections, both competitive and parallel, will be screened in standard digital format DCP in the venues adapted by the festival in the city of Bonito. The DCP must be submitted to the organization by the selected films.

CHAPTER V – SUBMISSIONS

Art. 13 The submissions of films competing in the selection process for Bonito CineSur 2026 – Bonito South American Film Festival must be made in accordance with the following procedures:

Paragraph 1: The regulations and the submission form will be available free of charge on the website from February 6 to April 6, 2026. Submissions must be made by the film’s legal representatives through the completion and online submission of the submission form and the required attachments. A film will only be considered submitted to Bonito CineSur once all mandatory fields of the submission form have been fully completed and all required attachments have been submitted.

I. The following materials must be submitted together with the online submission form:

- A link to the film, originally in Spanish or Portuguese, for viewing and evaluation;
- A synopsis of up to 500 characters;
- A technical data sheet;
- Two (2) stills from the film and one (1) photo of the director(s), with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi, duly identified and credited;
- The biography and filmography of the director(s), with a maximum of 500 characters.

Paragraph 2: Alternatively, applicants may submit their films through the FESTHOME platform (https://festhome.com/f/8101). The registration must be completed in full, including the upload of the video file or the provision of an access link, followed by payment of the platform’s submission fee. Only after this process has been fully completed will the submission be considered valid and made available to the festival’s programming team.

II – Films selected for the competitive sections will not receive any screening fee.

III – Submissions must be completed by April 6, 2026.

CHAPTER VI – FILM SELECTION

Art. 14 Films in the competitive and parallel sections will be selected by film professionals appointed by the direction of Bonito CineSur.

Art. 15 The festival’s curatorship will submit to the organization the list of pre-selected films and alternates. The organization will contact the producers of the films by May 15 to confirm the DCP, the film file in MP4 or MOV format, the subtitles in SRT format in the film’s original language, and the accessibility materials required under these regulations. Should the producer of a pre-selected film fail to confirm the materials listed above, the film will be disqualified, and the vacancy will be filled by an alternate film.

CHAPTER VII – SELECTED FILMS

Art. 16 The parties responsible for the selected films must submit the materials requested to the festival coordination by May 25, through the indicated electronic address: inscricaobonitocinesur26@gmail.com

The required materials are:

- A download link for the complete film in DCP format. Any costs related to file conversion shall be the sole responsibility of the producer of the selected film. If the DCP is found to be corrupted, the organization will request the submission of a corrected DCP within a period of 3 days from the solicitation date, under penalty of disqualification.
- A downloadable MP4 or MOV file of the film;
- Subtitles in SRT format in the film’s original language.

I – For films in Portuguese selected for the South American competitive section and for the environmental competitive section, it shall be mandatory for the producer to provide and make available the set of accessibility resources — resources that make the film more inclusive and accessible to all people — by May 31, 2026, consisting of:

- Descriptive subtitles;
- Brazilian Sign Language (Libras);
- Audio description.

For details on the technical specifications please refer to Annex 1.

II – The festival shall be responsible for ensuring the full security of the film against any type of illegal reproduction or copying. The film’s DCP must remain available for the entire duration of the festival.

III – The festival shall be responsible for the translation and subtitling of films from Spanish into Portuguese and vice versa.

IV – In addition to the materials already submitted at the time of registration, the following promotional materials of the film must also be submitted online for publicity purposes:

- A link containing scenes from the film (2 to 5 minutes) and/or trailer, website, and digital or social media platforms, if available.

Sole Paragraph: Once participation in the festival has been confirmed, selected films may not be withdrawn from the competition, and no appeals and/or claims for compensation shall be accepted.

Art. 17 Selected films may not be screened in commercial cinema circuits, on television, or on the internet, nor hold public preview screenings in Brazil prior to their exhibition at the festival, under penalty of being removed from the competition.

Art. 18 Bonito CineSur 2026 – Bonito South American Film Festival will publish the list of films selected for the competitive sections on the website and on the social media channels of Bonito CineSur and AACIC by June 5, 2026.

CHAPTER VIII – THE JURY

Art. 19 The Official Jury will be composed of Brazilian and international audiovisual professionals, who will determine the Best Film award in the five categories.

Art. 20 The Audience Jury trophies for Best South American Feature Film, Best South American Short Film, Best Film from Mato Grosso do Sul, Best South American Environmental Feature Film, and Best South American Environmental Short Film will be awarded based on the votes of the audience attending Bonito CineSur.

I. There will be one (1) screening of each film participating in the competitive sections, during which the voting will take place.
II. Each audience member will receive a ballot allowing them to assign a score from five to ten to the film screened in that session.
III. The festival’s production team will be responsible for the organization, supervision, distribution, and collection of the ballots after each screening.
IV. After the screenings, the ballots will be stored in envelopes, which will be opened only at the time of vote tallying.

CHAPTER IX – AUDIENCE JURY

Art. 21 The Audience Jury scores will be calculated proportionally. The film that achieves the highest average score in proportion to the number of audience members will be the winner.

Art. 22 The production team will prepare a written record signed by the festival coordination indicating the winning film in the Audience Jury category.

CHAPTER X – OFFICIAL JURY

Art. 23 The Official Jury will watch all films participating in the competitive sections and, on the final day, will prepare a written record signed by all its members indicating the winners of the Official Jury Best Film awards.

CHAPTER XI – AWARDS

Art. 24 Bonito CineSur 2026 – Bonito South American Film Festival will award the competing films in the sections with trophies and cash prizes as follows:

- Official Jury Award for Best South American Feature Film: BRL 20,000.00 and the Pantanal Trophy
- Official Jury Award for Best South American Short Film: BRL 7,500.00 and the Pantanal Trophy
- Official Jury Award for Best South American Environmental Feature Film: BRL 15,000.00 and the Pantanal Trophy
- Official Jury Award for Best South American Environmental Short Film: BRL 7,500.00 and the Pantanal Trophy
- Official Jury Award for Best Film from Mato Grosso do Sul: BRL 7,500.00 and the Pantanal Trophy
- Audience Jury Award for Best South American Feature Film: Pantanal Trophy
- Audience Jury Award for Best South American Short Film: Pantanal Trophy
- Audience Jury Award for Best South American Environmental Feature Film: Pantanal Trophy
- Audience Jury Award for Best South American Environmental Short Film: Pantanal Trophy
- Audience Jury Award for Best Film from Mato Grosso do Sul: Pantanal Trophy

CHAPTER XII – AWARD CEREMONY

Art. 25 The trophies will be presented at the award ceremony on August 1, 2026.

Art. 26 The prizes will be paid upon presentation of an invoice issued by the film’s legal representative or by a company designated by them, as requested by the festival coordination, within a period of up to 90 days after the conclusion of the festival.

Sole Paragraph – Fees related to international banking transactions shall be the responsibility of the award recipient.

CHAPTER XIII – GENERAL PROVISIONS

Art. 27 Failure to comply with any requirement set forth in these regulations will result in the automatic disqualification of the competing film.

Art. 28 The decisions of the Jury Committees are final and irrevocable.

Sole Paragraph: The Jury Committees shall be automatically dissolved once the award announcement ceremony has taken place at the official event on August 1, 2026.

Art. 29 Information can be obtained by email: inscricaobonitocinesur26@gmail.com


Bonito, Brasil, fevereiro de 2026.

José Alberto Melo Silva
Presidente da AACIC

APPLICATION FORM

Registration is open until April 6, 2026. The lack of information in this form may result in the elimination of the registration.

DATA OF THE FILM`S REPRESENTATIVE

- Full name:
- Address:
- City:
- State
- Country
- Zip code

CONTACTS

E-mail:
Landline phone:
Cell Phone:
Commercial phone:

COMPLETE FILM DATA

- Movie title:
- Length:
- Year of production:
- Country:
- Direction:
- Production:
- Film editing:
- Executive producer:
- Production director:
- Writer:
- Photography director:
- Art director:
- Cast:
- website |Facebook| Instagram:
- Synopsis (5-8 lines):


REGISTRATION REFERS TO THE FOLLOWING COMPETITIVE EXHIBITION:

( ) Competitive screening of South American feature films completed between the years 2025 and 2026.
( ) Competitive screening of South American short films completed between 2025 and 2026.
( ) Competitive exhibition of films from Mato Grosso do Sul of long, medium or short length, finished between the years 2025 and 2026.
( ) Competitive screening of South American environmental-themed cinema of feature films completed between 2025 and 2026
( ) Competitive screening of South American environmental cinema of short films completed between 2025 and 2026.

FILM HISTORY

- Unreleased film: ( )Yes ( )No
- Released in Brazil? ( )Yes ( )No
- If so, when?
- The main festivals where the film was screened:
- Main awards:

MOVIE TECHNICAL INFORMATION

- Format in which the film was filmed and finalized:
- Camera’s model:
- Editing software:
- Animation / effects / composition:
- Audio software:
- Company phone number:

Information to complete the registration and send the material:

1 - Send the signed registration form and authorization and the link to access the film via Vimeo or any other equivalent service (always password protected), as well as a publicity photo (with a minimum resolution of 300 DPI, with up to 3 MB) to the email: inscricaobonitocinesur26@gmail.com

AUTHORIZATION

I,........................................................................., responsible for the film(s) .............................................

I have read and agree to the regulations for participation in the fourth edition of BONITO CINESUR 2026 - Bonito South American Film Festival.

I declare that I am legally authorized to submit the film to the festival. I also authorize the use of the film’s images, information, and sounds in the BONITO CINESUR 2026 catalog, on its website, and across its social media channels.

I further authorize the festival to make such materials available to the press and to use them for any and all publicity necessary for the event.


___________________________
(Place and date)
____________________________
(Signature)