The Circuit

by Ed Meza
Rio-based film and TV powerhouse Conspiracao is looking to expand its operations abroad and, equipped with Brazilian tax coin, eager to board international coproductions across the pond.

Conspiracaos current lineup includes Breno Silveira's tale of star-crossed lovers, "Once Upon a Time in Rio," (pictured above) which recently screened in Toronto.

Company exec Leonardo Monteiro de Barros (pictured) set up shop in Hamburg, Germany, earlier this year in order to spearhead Conspiracao's international push.  The company is finishing up its first production shot abroad, the upcoming "The March of the Living," a documentary by Jessica Sanders ("After Innocence") that follows an annual march in Poland from Auschwitz to Birkenau held in remembrance of the Holocaust.

While Conspiracao produced that film 100%, the group is now looking to partner with international producers and prepared to cover up to 20% of the budget on projects using Brazilian tax incentives.

"We dont have to shoot in Brazil, but we do need a Brazilian element in the film, such as a director or star," says Barros, who is currently reviewing a dozen potential projects, most of them from Spain and Germany, with the goal of greenlighting two or three a year.

Currently in the works is a historical adventure-drama about 17th-century poet Lope de Vega, which has Conspiracao partner and helmer Andrucha Waddington ("House of Sand") set to direct.

At home, Conspiracao has also begun offering production services to international producers looking to shoot in Brazil, such as Aurelio de Laurentiis Filmauro, which recently lensed its upcoming Christmas comedy "Natale a Rio de Janeiro" here.

Other Conspiracao films include Lula Buarque de Hollanda and Carolina Jabor's Cannes screener "The Mystery of Samba," and upcoming comedy "My Best Friends Wife," which hits Brazilian theaters in November via Disney.