Company Feature...Utopia Films, Rio de Janeiro

LBB > Tell us a bit about your company and what makes it unique?

Utopia Films was founded in the USA in 1996 by the British producer and director Justin Bird. This British/ Brazilian/ American company is now based in the inspiring city of Rio de Janeiro. We have also recently opened a brand new office in São Paulo, the cultural and financial heart of Brazil.

We pride ourselves on providing competitive cost options for international producers filming in Brazil and Venezuela, as well as servicing leading still photographers and ad agencies. 

Our expertise lies in anticipating problems and creating solutions. We are known for our integrity, professionalism and speed in getting a job done. We have 20 years of experience to call on which means that we have learned the best way to do things.

Our objectives are:

– To be your leading choice

– Recognizing that service is equally as important as production

– Satisfaction and repeat business – by saving money for, and exceeding the demands of, our clients.

Our Speciality is ‘Making Pigs Fly’. Today the pigs are flying in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Caracas, Bogota, Santiago, Miami and Los Angeles.

 

LBB > What are the financial benefits and incentives of working in your city?

São Paulo offers a great variety of locations, high end technology and equipment, experienced crew, easy casting and great talents. Add to that we have a great tax rate that benefits a lot of foreign clients…it is cheap to shoot here. It is home to numerous annual audiovisual productions, both nationally and internationally. With its varied landscape, trained professionals and a unique technical park in the country, the city is the setting for several films, videos and television commercials.

And what not many clients realize is that we have great directors and photographers. Brazil is continuously among the top five most awarded countries at the Cannes Lions. Very different from our “competitors”….we are more creative.     

 

LBB > Is there a central production area or are companies scattered? 

There is the city of Paulinia the “Brazilian Hollywood” that is located one hour and a half from São Paulo. That is a central production area. São Paulo itself is a big city and we have lots of Studios, Rental and Production Houses scattered all over the city.

 

LBB > Is there a production association in your city and are you a member?

Yes there is. We are member of the APRO, ANCINE, and FILMBRAZILCOMMITION.

 

LBB > What are the insurance ins and outs? Are there any issues with insuring locally?

We have our own broker and have used our insurance company for many years. No there isn’t.

 

LBB > Do politics in your region have any effect on shooting? What, if any, are the issues?

It has been a shooting location for many film productions and our city has mechanisms that were created in order to deal more easily with the various audio visual processes. The proper permits to record the images must be requested by the borough to which the district belongs. There are cases where you need to pay a fee for use of municipal equipment, the public price, fixed-annually and that is the case for a large number of public buildings throughout the city. For filming outside using public roads (by legal definition, this also includes the sidewalks) the production must seek authorization from the CET (local traffic organization), which will also provide logistical support when deemed necessary. To do so requires compensation and the value is fixed by law.

 

LBB > What, if any, safety issues should foreign productions shooting in your country be aware of?

Brazilian laws regarding national broadcasting, and shipment of equipment are very complicated, so the local production house should be very close to the process and aware of any changes. Despite that it is very easy to film in Brazil. 

 

LBB > How varied and adaptable are your locations? And how far would someone need to travel to get to them? Do you have a peak shooting season?

Brasil is a continental country so it will depend of what the client wants.  We don’t have a peak shooting season.

 

LBB > Does your region have film studios? Is your region known for its locations or studios? 

We have a great number of studios. And São Paulo is known for its diverse urban locations (plants, industry, financial area, Japanese town, suburbs, slum, parks, distinguished neighbourhoods, green areas) and fully equipped studios.

 

LBB > Are there labs locally?

Yes there are. Here are some of them: www.teleimage.com.br, www.labocine.com.br, www.estudiosmega.com.br. 

 

LBB > Do you offer mostly local kit or do you need to fly it in?

Yes we have everything you need to do a film production. 

 

LBB > Can you partner up to offer local post production if needed?

Yes we can we have great relationship with all the biggest post productions in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

 

LBB > Can your market handle 3D (stereoscopic)? 

Yes we have lots of companies that provide that service.

 

LBB > How easy is it to crew up locally? Is there any shortage of talented staff? How do you handle this?

It is very ease to crew up here in São Paulo, we have the biggest Latin American economy and we are the centre of all film production in Brazil. We have a lot of talented staff and in good number.

 

LBB > What jobs have you worked on recently? 

We worked with Panasonic, Dell, Coca-Cola, Bacardi, Camel, Brahma Beer Direct TV, GE, Ford, Kia, Hewlett Packard, HSBC, Pepsi, Master Card, Budweiser, Carlsberg, Nokia, Nestle, a Indian long feature Robot and lots of still photography for Dell and SAP. 

 

LBB > Where does the majority of your work come from? 

Most of our work comes from USA and Europe, Germany, Spain, UK and India.

 

LBB > Is casting fairly easy to look after and do you have a wide variety of languages, nationalities and talent that you can use?

We say that São Paulo has a little bit of every race and people.  We have people from Africa,  Asia and Europe and Middle East, so we can always deliver what is asked. And most of them are bilingual.

 

LBB > Do you offer office space to those travelling to shoots?

Yes we have offices in Rio and São Paulo.

 

LBB > Can you manage all travel arrangements?

Yes we are more than used to doing that.