RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Production company Estudio Escarlate launched at Rio Fest the Sustainable Audiovisual Manual, a digital book available on the web with detailed guidelines for the reduction of the environmental impact of audiovisual productions, from pre-production to distribution.
Sponsored by the Brazilian Tourism Board (Embratur), the Manual is an initiative of Escarlate in partnership with Pachamama, a local company specialized in investments in green assets, and Sustentech, responsible for the technical aspects of the book.
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The Sustainable Audiovisual Manual addresses issues such as biodiversity, energy, greenhouse gas emissions, water, waste, social, and governance. For each theme, it presents conceptual introductions, practical strategies, monitoring indicators, and suggested targets.
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“By aligning our industry with international standards and paving the way for the first national sustainability certification in the audiovisual sector, we affirm Brazil’s pioneering role in uniting culture, responsibility, and innovation in pursuit of a fairer and more sustainable future,” Escarlate CEO Joana Henning told Variety.
The Sustainable Audiovisual Manual is part of the Chico Vive (Chico Lives) project, which includes the production of a doc and a biopic about the celebrated Brazilian environmental leader Chico Mendes, murdered in 1988, who is an international symbol of the struggle to protect the Amazon Rainforest.
Sergio Machado will direct and Sergio Carvalho will co-direct both the doc and biopic, which will be the first two productions in Brazil adopting the manual’s parameters of sustainability.
“As Mandela was the icon of the movement against the Apartheid in South Africa, I believe Chico Mendes is fit to be the face of the Amazon Rainforest preservation,” Machado told Variety.
Marcelo Freixo, CEO of Embratur, stressed the synergies between tourism and audiovisual, as a significant part of the tourists pick destinations they see portrayed in films and series. He also highlighted Embratur’s compromise with the environment.
“Sustainability is one of the guiding principles of our organization. Embratur is a zero-waste company and we offset the carbon emissions from the trips of all the journalists we bring to Brazil,” Freixo told Variety. “Besides, it is our duty to take part in a project of Chico Mendes.”
COP30 Special: Possible Futures
Over Nov. 10-21, Brazil will host COP30, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, in the northern city of Belém, at the mouth of the Amazon. To mark this critical conference, Rio Fest is holding the section “COP30 Special: Possible Futures.”
Over 70 films, including world premieres and retrospectives, are screening during the festival, addressing topics such as climate justice, environmental preservation and sustainable development. Several screenings in venues across Rio feature guests and discussions with the audience.
“COP30 Special: Possible Futures reaffirms the Rio Fest commitment to dialogue between culture and the urgent issues of our time, strengthening theRstudi role of audiovisual media and its capacity for social and environmental transformation,” said Ilda Santiago, Rio Fest’s exec dir, programming & int’l projects.
Films and panels in the fest highlight the direct impact of climate change on the life, culture and economy of regions such as the Brazilian Amazon, the identity of indigenous peoples, urban and rural conflicts, racial justice and environmental racism and migration, among other topics.
There are also round tables and debates between professionals and activists from different fields – Brazilian and foreign – to discuss important contemporary environmental issues.
Estevão Ciavatta, CEO of local production company Pindorama Filmes, spoke at a round table with photographer and director Piratá Waurá, activist Txai Suruí, and filmmaker Maya Da-Rin, moderated by Verônica Pinheiro.
Ciavatta said Pindorama has been offsetting its entire carbon footprint since 2007, compensating 100% of its emissions through the reforestation of river basins in partnership with the SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation. Over the past 25 years, they have planted more than 35,000 trees.
