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Cannes — Framing one of the first independent series co-productions between Brazil and Portugal, Ventre Studio, Coral Europa, Canal Brasil and Tvi are co-producing “Godless John,” with Brazilian acting legend Marco Nanini as John of God.

Onza Distribution has acquired international sales rights to the series. It has started introducing it to buyers at this week’s Mipcom trade fair.

Directed by Marina Person (“California”), the three-part series’ boasts a powerful Brazilian cast which has gained international recognition: Bianca Comparato, star of Netflix hit “3,” Karine Teles (“Second Mother”) and Antonio Saboia (“Bacurau”).

Two Portuguese actresses will be confirmed shortly.

Since early development, Ventre Studio has focused on the story’s international dimension, said Paula Cosenza, a producer and partner at Ventre Studio. That is enhanced by Portuguese characters who bring a “foreign perspective.”

The story itself may be a Brazilian one, but with an international impact and resonance worldwide.

The fiction...

German sales agent M-Appeal has sealed a series of deals on the Brazilian title.

German sales outfit M-Appeal has closed a Us deal for Berlinale Panorama title Greta with Rich Wolff and Richard Ross’ Breaking Glass Pictures.

The film has also gone to Benelux (Arti Film) and German-speaking territories (GMfilms).

Greta, is the feature debut of Brazilian director Armando Praça, tells the story of an elderly gay nurse who can’t find a hospital bed for his transgender friend. He secretly takes home a wounded young man, under police guard on suspicion of murder, and gives his bed to his friend.

Berlin — An elderly gay nurse who idolizes Greta Garbo struggles to cope with the dire prognosis for his ailing transgender friend, until a surprising affair with a younger man brings an unexpected chance to break free from his solitude.

“Greta” is an emotional portrait of intergenerational love, life and loss among a marginalized class of Brazilians. Armando Praça’s directorial debut, which world premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, stars iconic stage and TV actor Marco Nanini, Denise Weinberg, Demick Lopes, and Gretta Sttar.“Greta” was produced by Carnaval Filmes with Segredo Filmes. Berlin-based M-Appeal is handling international sales.

Praça spoke with Variety about giving a compassionate face to marginalized people, creating opportunities for transgender actors, and facing the challenges for Brazil’s Lgbt community after the country’s rightward turn.

“Greta” was inspired by “Greta Garbo, Who Would Imagine, Ended Up in Irajá,” a play that was written in the 1970s.

M-Appeal has acquired world sales rights to “Greta,” the feature debut of Brazil’s Armando Praça which will world premiere in this year’s Berlinale Panorama section.

The Berlin-based film industry has also dropped an international trailer, to which Variety has had exclusive access.

Produced by Carnaval Filmes, whose credit include major titles by Marcelo Gomes, one of Brazil’s most prominent directors, “Greta” turns on Pedro, a 70-year-old gay hospital nurse. The film begins with his attempting to care for his best friend, Daniela, a transgender cabaret singer who refuses further treatment for terminal kidney failure.

Pedro vacates a hospital bed for Daniela by helping Jean, wounded and under arrest for manslaughter, to escape from hospital arrest. Hiding Jean in his apartment, Pedro begins an unlikely affair with the much younger man.

“Greta” begins with Pedro wiping off his mascara as he climbs into an ambulance to accompany Daniela to hospital.

22 films in the Panorama programme so far, with nine directorial debuts.

The first 22 titles from the 2019 Berlin Film Festival (Feb 7-17) Panorama programme have been revealed.

Scroll down for the full line-up

The European premiere of UK director Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir, starring Tilda Swinton, her daughter Honor Swinton-Byrne and Tom Burke, and the world premiere of Seamus Murphy’s Pj Harvey documentary A Dog Called Money are among the titles confirmed today.

The line-up also includes the directing debuts of actors Jonah Hill (Mid90s) and Alexander Gorchilin (Acid), and Rob Garver’s documentary What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael,...

The Berlin Film Festival has revealed a large selection of movies for its Panorama strand. Section head Paz Lázaro and co-curator and programme manager Michael Stütz have revealed 22 titles, 14 of which will be world premieres.

Among highlights are Jonah Hill’s directorial debut Mid90s; Jamie Bell starrer Skin, about the USA’s neo-Nazi scene; Tilda Swinton drama The Souvenir; and What She Said: The Art Of Pauline Kael, about the legendary film critic.

Panorama Films:

37 Seconds – Japan

by Hikari (Mitsuyo Miyazaki)

with Mei Kayama, Misuzu Kanno, Makiko Watanabe, Shunsuke Daitō, Yuka Itaya

World premiere – Debut film

Director Hikari, aka Mitsuyo Miyazaki, tells the story of Yuma, a young Japanese woman who suffers from cerebral palsy. Torn between her obligations towards her family and her dream to become a manga artist, Yuma struggles to lead a self-determined life.

Dafne – Italy

by Federico Bondi

with Carolina Raspanti, Antonio Piovanelli,...

Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, “mid90s,” about a 13-year-old skateboarder’s coming of age, and a documentary on influential film critic Pauline Kael are among the works that will screen in the Panorama section of the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.

Films starring Tilda Swinton and Jamie Bell and titles from countries including Israel, Brazil and Japan were also announced in the first batch of 22 Panorama selections unveiled by the Berlinale on Tuesday. Nine of the films are debut works, and 14 will have their world premiere in the German capital. The section is curated by Paz Lázaro and co-curator and program manager Michael Stütz.

“mid90s” follows teenage Stevie as he joins up with four skateboarding punks who take him under their wing. Variety described Hill’s debut film as “a slice of street life made up of skittery moments that achieve a bone-deep reality. And because you believe what you’re seeing,...

Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos / Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, Brazil's biggest box-office hit until last year's The Elite Squad 2, will be remade. At the Gramado Film Festival, currently being held in the small southern Brazilian town, actor-director Reginaldo Faria announced that his son, Marcelo Faria, will star in a new film adaptation of Jorge Amado's bestseller. The project will also mark television director Pedro Vasconcelos' feature-film debut. Bruno Barreto's acclaimed 1976 sex comedy starred Sonia Braga, José Wilker, and Mauro Mendonça. A (quite tame) American remake directed by Robert Mulligan, and starring Sally Field, Jeff Bridges, and James Caan, was released as Kiss Me Goodbye in 1982. It was a critical and box-office disappointment. Additionally, there was a 1998 Brazilian TV miniseries toplined by Giulia Gam, Edson Celulari, and Marco Nanini. Set in Salvador in the early 1940s, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands tells the story...