Festival start: 25 July 2025
Festival end: 02 August 2025
BONITO CINESUR 2025
Bonito South American Film Festival - 2025 | Brazil
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela
Competitive screenings of South American new feature and short films made between 2024 and 2025;
Parallel exhibition of South American children's animation film;
Competitive environmental-themed film exhibition;
Competitive exhibition of Mato Grosso do Sul film, with films made between 2024 and 2025;
Awards, debates, rounds of discussions aimed at international agreements;
Exchange with the most important festival directors in South America;
Workshops for children and the general community, workshops for film and audiovisual professionals and academics.
LOCATIONS
CMU - Multiple Use Center
ECOTOURISM, CULTURE and CINEMA
In Brazil’s heart, the city of Bonito is part of the Serra da Bodoquena National Park and one of the most important ecotourism spots in the country.
Mato Grosso do Sul borders Bolivia and Paraguay, from where the state received strong cultural influences and the composition of the ethnic identity of its people.
Bonito has around twenty thousand inhabitants and in this charming city there are rivers with crystal clear water, waterfalls, caves and the most beautiful landscapes of Brazil’s midwest. The cultural hub of Mato Grosso do Sul, Bonito hosts literary and Jazz festivals, besides one winter festival.
Bonito CineSur 2025 - South American Film Festival. Space for the gathering and integration of South American cinema and audiovisual productions, presenting its most recent films and bringing together professionals from all countries of the continent.
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 in 120 hours of free programming.
Bonito CineSur has been widely covered in the local and national press and in 2024 it grew in size and relevance with the participation of 40 public and private institutions, reaching 5.000 people directly, fostering the local creative economy by hiring 200 professional production services, technical equipment, as well as hotels, restaurants and transportation.
In 2025, the Bonito CineSur - South American Film Festival will occupy central spaces in the city of Bonito, and will continue to consolidate the convergence of culture - environment - tourism, intercommunicating cinematographically in South America, highlighting environmental issues and promoting the tourist destination of Bonito and our beloved Brazil internationally.
Bonito CineSur 2025 - South American Film Festival
NILSON RODRIGUES - Director
Producer of the movies “O outro lado do paraíso" (2015) and “O pastor e o guerrilheiro” (2022). Nilson was the director of Festival de Brasília do Cinema Brasileiro (1995, 1997, 1998 and 2011), and also of the “Festival Internacional de Cinema de Brasília” - Brazilian International Film Festival (from 2012 to 2017), of Bonito CineSur (2023 and 2024).
ANDREA FREIRE - Coordinator
Coordinator of the Bonito Winter Festival (from 2000 to 2006, 2015 and 2016); coordinator of Festival América do Sul (2004, 2005, 2015 and 2016); coordinator of the Screening Exhibit “Vídeo Índio Brasil” (2009), of the audiovisual production course “Mídias Contemporâneas Narrativas Populares” (2010); director, researcher and writer of the audiovisual series “EVOÉ – Drama Stories in Campo Grande” (2021). Coordinator of Bonito CineSur (2023 and 2024).
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 and 2024).
THERESA HILCAR _ Coordinator
Journalist, columnist, press officer and TV producer. She has been working in the Mato Grosso do Sul press for 35 years and has worked for the most important media outlets. She has published five books and two anthologies. She is a member of the South Mato Grosso Academy of Letters.
JOSÉ GERALDO COUTO – Curator
Born in Jaú, in São Paulo state, in 1957. He is a journalist, translator and film critic. José Geraldo has worked for more than twenty years at the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper. He is currently working at the Moreira Salles Institute. José has translated literary works by Henry James, Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, Martin Scorsese and Nelson Mandela, among others.
CECILIA 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 in curating exhibitions and film festivals, as well as his work as a journalist and teacher.
LUCIANA DRUZINA – Curator of the Anima Sur children's and youth exhibition.
Director of the company Druzina Content, where for over fifteen years she has been producing series, animated films, fiction and games, which are shown in more than fifty countries on the most diverse platforms and channels. . Curator of the parallel children's programming of Bonito CineSur (2023 and 2024).
ELIS REGINA – Curator of the environmental cinema exhibition
Journalist, Elis has already worked as a curator in many events, such as: “Comitiva dos Chefs Festival Movie Exhibit” (2019); Making Of exhibit – “O Cinema Está Aqui – Festcine América do Sul” (2014); “A Imagem do índio exhibit – Vídeo Índio Brasil” (2014 and 2015); “Comida em Movimento Festival – Cinema e Gastronomia” (2023), and the Bonito CineSur South American Environmental Film Festival (2023 and 2024).
MARCOS PIERRY - Curator of the South Mato Grosso Cinema Showcase
Journalist, critic, audiovisual curator, screenwriter, short filmmaker and film professor. He holds a master's degree from USP and a doctorate from UFMG. He is a member of the Brazilian Association of Film Critics (Abraccine). Curator of the Bonito CineSur showcase of cinema from Mato Grosso do Sul (2024).
BONITO CINESUR – South American Film Festival
Production - Associação Amigos do Cinema e da Cultura – AACIC
Private non-profit entity, founded in 2007, which has been developing cultural, educational and training projects for over fifteen years. Among the activities carried out, the “Cinesurdo" projects, The School in Cinema, Contemporary Dialogues, Popular Cinema Circuit and Cinema in Schools stand out, and the Youth Festival.
The association’s experience and technical capacity for developing and carrying out activities in the field of cinema, as well as in training, education and culture in general, has already been attested by the Education, Health and Culture Commission of the City Council of Brasília and by the Brasília University of Brasília.
CONTACT
AACIC Executive Secretary
Dulcinéia Miranda
aacicbonitosur@gmail.com
+55 (61) 98119-5417
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
Rules
CHAPTER I – THE ORGANIZATION
Art. 1st Bonito CineSur 2025 – Bonito South American Film Festival will be held in the city of Bonito, in Mato Grosso do Sul state, from July 25 to August 2, of the current year, being organized by the Associação Amigos do Cinema e da Cultura – AACIC, supported by public and private institutions.
Paragraph 1: The activities of Bonito CineSur - Bonito South American Film Festival will take place in venues prepared to hold film screenings following international standards in Bonito city, in Mato Grosso do Sul state.
Paragraph 2: The 2025 Bonito South American Film Festival will offer five competitive screenings; one for South American feature films, one for South American short films, one for Mato Grosso do Sul’s films, one for South American feature films about the environment, one for South American short films about the environment and one parallel screening with South American animated films aimed at children and young people, special screenings and educational activities.
CHAPTER II – COMPETITIVE SCREENINGS
Art. 2 The competitive South American feature film screening will consist of 6 (six) films.
Art. 3 The competitive South American short film screening will consist of 6 (six) films.
Art. 4 The competitive screening of films from Mato Grosso do Sul will consist of 6 (six) films, which can be feature, medium or short films.
Art. 5 The competitive screening of South American environmental feature films will consist of 6 (six) films.
Art. 6 The competitive South American environmental short film screening will consist of 6 (six) films.
Art. 7 The films chosen for the competitive screenings will compete for the awards for Best South American Feature Film by the Official Jury, Best South American Short Film by the Official Jury, Best South American Film by the Official Jury, Best Feature Film South American Environmental Film by the Official Jury, Best South American Environmental Short Film by the Official Jury, Pantanal Trophy for Best South American Feature Film by the Popular Jury, Best South American Short Film by the Popular Jury, Best Film from Mato Grosso do Sul by the Popular Jury, Best South American Environmental Feature Film by the Popular Jury, Best South American Environmental Short Film by the Popular Jury.
CHAPTER III – PARALLEL SCREENING
Art. 8 The children's and youth exhibition of South American animated films will show an historical overview and will feature a selection of films, long and short, for children and young adults, and will be divided into sessions suitable for each age group.
CHAPTER IV – ABOUT THE FILMS
Art. 9 Only films completed in 2024 and 2025, unreleased in the Brazilian market, can be shown in the competitive exhibitions of South American films and South American environmental films at Bonito CineSur 2025.
Paragraph 1: It´s considered as feature film, films that run for more than seventy minutes.
Paragraph 2: Short films are films with a duration equal to or less than twenty minutes.
Art. 10 Films by producers established in Mato Grosso do Sul, completed between 2024-2025, will be able to be screened at the competitive exhibition of films from Mato Grosso do Sul, and may be of short, medium or feature film length.
Paragraph 1: It´s considered as Medium length film, a film that runs more than 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 from all exhibitions, competitive and parallel, will be shown in standard digital format – DCP in rooms adapted by the Bonito Festival. The DCP must be sent to the organization by those selected.
CHAPTER V – REGISTRATIONS
Art. 13 The registration of the films that will compete for the selection of Bonito CineSur - Bonito South American Film Festival 2025 must be done following the procedures below:
Paragraph 1: The regulation and the registration form will be available on the www.bonitosur.com.br website, from February 20 to April 6, 2025. Entries must be submitted by the legal representatives of the film, by completing and sending the registration form and mandatory attachments online. The film will only be considered registered in the Bonito CineSur after completing all the mandatory fields of the registration form and mandatory attachments.
I – I - It is mandatory to send the following material, along the online registration form:
• link to the film, originally in Spanish or Portuguese, for viewing and evaluation;
• synopsis with up to 500 characters;
• Credits;
• 2 (two) photos of the film and a photo of the director or directors with a minimum resolution of 300 PPP, properly identified and accredited;
• Biography and filmography of the director(s) with up to 500 characters.
Paragraph 2: - As an alternative, interested parties may submit their films via the Festhome platform (https://festhome.com/festival/bonito-cinesur-festival-de-cinema-sul-americano-de-bonito / https://festhome.com/f/8101). In order to do so, they must fill out the registration in full by completing the upload of the video file or making the link available and then pay the platform's submission fee. Only when this process is complete the registration will be done and available to the festival programmers.
II – The films selected for the competitive screenings will not receive any kind of fee for the exhibition.
III – Applications must be done by April 6, 2025.
CHAPTER VI – THE FILMS SELECTION
Art. 14 The films of the competitive and parallel exhibitions will be selected by film professionals indicated by the direction of Bonito CineSur.
CHAPTER VII – OF THOSE SELECTED
Art. 15 Bonito CineSur - Bonito South American Film Festival 2025 will disclose the list of films selected for the competitive screenings on the www.bonitocinesur.com.br website and social media of Bonito CineSur and AACIC, until May 30, 2025.
Art. 16 Those responsible for the selected films must send the requested materials to the festival coordinator by June 5, using the following e-mail address. The materials are:
- Link to download the complete film in DCP format. The producer of the selected film will be entirely responsible for any file conversion costs;
- Movie file in MP4 or MOV for download;
- SRT subtitles in the official language of the film.
I - For the Portuguese-language films selected for the South American competitive showcase and the environmental competitive showcase, it will be mandatory for the producer to provide and make available the set of accessibilities - resources that make the film more inclusive and accessible to all people - by June 15, 2025, consisting of:
II - The festival will be responsible for the total security of the films, against any kind of illegal reproduction or copying. The DCP of the film must be available for the entire duration of the festival.
III - The festival is responsible for translating and subtitling the Spanish-language film into Portuguese.
IV- In addition to the material already submitted for registration, the following promotional materials for the film must also be sent online:
- link with movie scenes (2 to 5 minutes) and/or trailer, website, social media, if any.
Sole Paragraph: Once participation in the festival is confirmed, the selected films cannot be withdrawn from the competition, with no appeal and/or claim for compensation.
Art. 17 The selected films cannot be shown in the commercial circuit of cinemas, on television or on the internet or have a preview open to the public in Brazil before being shown at the festival, under penalty of being withdrawn from the competition.
CHAPTER VIII – JURY
Art. 18 The Official Jury will be composed by Brazilian and foreign professionals from the audiovisual field, who will define the award for Best Film in the five categories.
Art. 19 The Trophies for Best South American Feature Film by the Popular Jury, Best South American Short Film, Best Mato Grosso do Sul Film, Best South American Environmental Feature Film, Best South American Environmental Short Film, will be offered based on the votes of the public participating in Bonito CineSur.
I - There will be 1 session of each film participating in the competitive screenings, when the popular ratings will be given.
II - Each viewer will receive a ballot with the option to rate each film from 5 to 10.
III - The festival production team will be responsible for organizing, supervising, distributing and collecting ballots after each session ends.
IV - After the screenings, the ballots will be kept in envelopes that will only be open when accounted.
CHAPTER IX – POPULAR JURY
Art. 20 The rates given by the popular jury will be counted proportionally. The film that scores the best average proportional to the number of people in the audience will be the winner.
Art. 21 The production team will release an official document signed by the festival's coordination indicating the winning film in the popular jury category.
CAPÍTULO X – OFFICIAL JURY
Art. 22 The Official Jury will watch all the films participating in the competitive screenings and, on the last day, will release an official document signed by all its members indicating the winners of the Best Film awards by the Official Jury.
CHAPTER XI – awards
Art. 23 Bonito CineSur - Bonito South American Film Festival - 2025 will award the films competing in the event with a trophy and a cash prize as follows:
● 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
CHAPTER XII – prizes AWARD
Art. 24 The trophies will be awarded at the awards ceremony on August 2, 2025.
Art. 25 The prizes will be paid upon presentation of the invoice by the film's legal representative or by a company delegated by the film to be requested by the festival coordination, within 90 days of the end of the festival.
Sole paragraph - The fees for international bank transactions will be the responsibility of the winner.
CHAPTER XIII – FURTHER INFORMATION
Art. 26 Failure to comply with any requirement of this regulation will result in the automatic disqualification of the competing film.
Art 27 The decisions of the Commissions are irrevocable.
Sole Paragraph: The Commissions will be automatically dissolved as soon as the award ceremony is held on August 2, 2025
REGISTRATION FORM BELOW
Bonito, Brazil, February 2025.
José Alberto Melo Silva
AACIC President
BONITO CINESUR - Bonito South American Film Festival
From July 25th to August 2nd, 2025, in Bonito
APPLICATION FORM
Registration until April 6, 2025. The lack of information in this form may result in the elimination of the registration.
DATA OF THE FILM`S REPRESENTATIVE
1. Full name:
2. Address:
3. City: 5- State:
4- Country: 6- Zip Code:
1- Movie title:
2-length:
3- Year of production:
4. Country:
5. Direction:
6. Production:
7. Film editing:
8. Executive producer:
9. Production director:
10. Writer:
11. Photography director:
12. Art director:
13. Cast:
14. Página web|Facebook| Instagram:
15. Synopsis (5-8 lines):
REGISTRATION REFERS TO THE FOLLOWING COMPETITIVE EXHIBITION:
1. ( ) Competitive screening of South American feature films completed between the years 2024 and 2025.
2. ( ) Competitive screening of South American short films completed between 2024 and 2025.
3. ( ) Competitive exhibition of films from Mato Grosso do Sul of long, medium or short length, finished between the years 2024 and 2025.
4. Competitive screening of South American environmental-themed cinema of feature films completed between 2024 and 2025.
5. Competitive screening of South American environmental cinema of short films completed between 2024 and 2025.
FILM HISTORY
6. Unreleased film: ( ) Yes ( ) No
7. Released in Brazil? ( ) Yes ( ) No
3- If so, when?
6. The main festivals where the film was screened:
7. Main awards:
MOVIE TECHNICAL INFORMATION
1. Format in which the film was filmed and finalized:
2. Camera’s model:
3. Editing software:
4. Animation / effects / composition:
5. Audio software:
AUTHORIZATION
I, ........................................................................., responsible for the film(s) .............................................
I have read and accept the regulations for participating in the third edition of BONITO CINESUR - Bonito South American Film Festival.
I also declare that I am legally authorized to submit the film to the festival.
I also authorize the use of images and information about me in the BONITO CINESUR 2025 catalog and on its website.
I also give my permission for the festival to make the information, images and sounds of the production available to the press and to use it for any publicity that may be necessary for the event.
___________________________
(Place and date)
____________________________
(Signature)
ATTENTION: FILL IN THE REGISTRATION FORM AND SEND IT, TOGETHER WITH THE COMPLETED AND SIGNED AUTHORIZATION, TO THE FOLLOWING EMAIL ADDRESS: inscricaobonitocinesur2025@gmail.com
The competitive South American feature film
Feature Films >71' (2024+)
No Fee
Submissions deadline
06 Apr 25
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0€
Submit
Only films completed in 2024 and 2025, unreleased in the Brazilian market.
The competitive South American short film
Short Films >1' 20'< (2024+)
No Fee
Submissions deadline
06 Apr 25
Save up
0€
Submit
Only films completed in 2024 and 2025, unreleased in the Brazilian market.
The competitive screening of films from Mato Grosso do Sul
Short and Feature Films >1' (2024+)
No Fee
Submissions deadline
06 Apr 25
Save up
0€
Submit
Only films completed in 2024 and 2025, unreleased in the Brazilian market.
The competitive screening of South American environmental feature films
Feature Films >71' (2024+)
No Fee
Submissions deadline
06 Apr 25
Save up
0€
Submit
Only films completed in 2024 and 2025, unreleased in the Brazilian market.
The competitive South American environmental short film
Short Films >1' 20'< (2024+)
No Fee
Submissions deadline
06 Apr 25
Save up
0€
Submit
Only films completed in 2024 and 2025, unreleased in the Brazilian market.
