Brazil’s Gullane Steps Firmly Into Distribution With Gullane+, Lines Up Julio Andrade for Cao Hamburger’s ‘School Without Borders’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Top Brazilian production company Gullane Entretenimento is ramping up efforts to widen its scope through Gullane+, the company’s fast-growing distribution arm. Partners Fabiano and Caio Gullane will now focus on production, with Débora Ivanov taking over the distribution operation. Gullane+ inherits the company’s rich catalog of over 40 projects, including Karim Aïnouz’s “Mariner of the Mountains” and Laís Bodanzky’s classic “Brainstorm,” as well as featuring a slate of new exciting projects by André Ristum and Flavia Moraes.

Speaking with Variety out of Berlin where Gullane is heavily promoting its distribution efforts, Fabiano Gullane said the three partners always “really liked the distribution part of the process” and realize they could employ their many years of expertise in handling some of their titles. Initially, Gullane+ will focus on documentaries and smaller productions, with major projects still benefiting from their long-standing partnership with Brazilian distributors like Paris Filmes.

“The idea is to improve the export of Brazilian audiovisual content,” continued Gullane. “These are our first steps on this path. We have a lot of experience as producers in the international market working in partnership with sales companies and the dream now is partnering with sales agents for international markets so we can co-sell. I think in one or two years when we are a little bit more mature in this segment, we can probably start selling through Gullane+.”

Highlights of Gullane+’s slate include a much-awaited new project by “The Year My Parents Went on Vacation” director Cao Hamburger, titled “School Without Borders.” The project is based on the true story of Braz Nogueira, an educator turned principal of a public school in Heliópolis, one of the biggest slums in Brazil.

“It will be a big return for Cao after 10 years of doing television,” says Gullane, who also told Variety they have just confirmed “Under Pressure” star Julio Andrade to play the lead in the film.

Another major project under the banner is Sandra Kogut’s “New Cancun,” a new feature co-created and starred by “The Second Mother” Sundance Acting award winner, Regina Casé and the sequel to “Three Summers”. Gullane told Variety that, on top of Globo Filmes and Gloria Filmes, TeleCine has just joined as a co-producer, attracted by the appeal of Casé — one of Brazil’s most popular actors.

Hamburger has a second project with Gullane+, “Paulo Freire, a biopic of the titular Brazilian educator co-written by Marcelo Gomes that Gullane hopes can be “as big” as Walter Salles’s multiple-Oscar-nominated “I’m Still Here.” Shooting is set to take place next year in Brazil, Chile, and New York.

André Ristum’s “Technically Sweet” is another exciting title, developed from an original screenplay by Italian auteur Michelangelo Antonioni. The film can be considered the last entry in the director’s “Escape From Civilization” trilogy which includes the classics “Blow Up” and “The Passenger.” Gullane is currently “looking for a third country to complete the budget.”

Flavia Moraes’s “Milton Bituca Nascimento” is one of Gullane’s first coordinated production/distribution efforts and trails one of Brazil’s greatest artists, starting from his farewell tour. The doc is now completed and features interviews with Quincy Jones, Spike Lee, and more. Another doc,

Pedro Yytoá’s “Ayrton Senna: Pure Racing” sees Gullane surf the big Senna wave after the major success of its Netflix series to tell the story of the driver before his Formula 1 days.

“It’s an independent project we are financing in Brazil,” says Gullane of the new Senna doc. “We already have Claro as a sponsor and Lionsgate just invested some money through Article 3. We are about to start shooting and will interview everyone who was competing with Senna in Formula 4 before he became the Formula 1 legend.” The doc will be produced by Gullane and distributed by Gullane+.

Gullane+ is also behind the restored version of Jorge Bodanzky’s seminal “Iracema,” which just received its world premiere at the Berlinale. “We made a deal with Bodanzky and we have three or four of his films within Gullane+,” says Gullane, adding that they are planning on releasing the film in Brazil in the second semester of 2025.

Another title soon to hit Brazilian screens via Gullane+ is Sérgio Machado’s “3 Obás de Xangô,” revolving around the friendship between Brazilian icons Jorge Amado, Dorival Caymmi and Carybé. The film won audience awards at Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Tiradentes film festivals. “People just love this film,” points out Gullane. “We will release it just after Cannes in Brazil, in either June or July.

Gullane said it will have more exciting news about the television slate to come out of Series Mania, with the company attending the event for the first time, but that the team is “very excited” to be in Berlin and begin cementing relationships through their distribution arm. For now, the focus is on structuring its operation in Brazil but, given its reach and efforts, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Gullane+ banner popping up in major international festivals in the next year or two.