Projects

72HORAS

72HORAS is an audio-visual project that provides emerging filmmakers in Rio de Janeiro with opportunities to develop their talent and make connections to enhance their career in film.

Brazil & Aotearoa New Zealand

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72HORAS Festival de Filmes 2016 prizegiving. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

72HORAS was created to provide Brazilians with opportunities to learn about filmmaking, produce and exhibit their own short film, and make connections that would enhance their filmmaking career. Based on New Zealand’s 48HOURS film competition, budding filmmakers from all demographic groups took the creative challenge to script, film, edit, finalise and deliver a short film within 72 hours. Films could be documentaries, fiction or animations.

The films were shot in Rio de Janeiro’s port region. Including local residents in the production crews was an important part of the competition. This gave the community access to audio-visual production tools and the opportunity to establish creative relationships that could lead to job opportunities. Local people connected with production teams by uploading their profiles on the project website.

72HORAS was run every year between 2014 and 2017. During that time, 6000 filmmakers produced 300 short films and helped over 15,000 creatives receive free education, and film production and exhibition opportunities. Many of these creatives went on to study at audio-visual institutions or gain paid work through the connections they made and experience they gained.

The project also gave the port communities the chance to share their stories and occupy the glamourous cultural spaces now embedded in their local area, such as Museu de Arte do Rio and Museu do Amanhã.

The project was made up of several events. 72HORAS Circuito Criativo was a series of audio-visual workshops offered in the lead up to the 72HORAS Festival de Filmes. The film festival involved launching and running the production challenge, exhibiting the finished films and an awards ceremony. 72HORAS Cineclube was a monthly exhibition of the films produced during the festival, where the films’ producers had their work critiqued by audio-visual professionals.

Some of the films produced for 72HORAS have been exhibited at international short-film festivals in over 60 countries. For example, A Visita, directed by Leandro Corinto, was shown at 60 national and international festivals and has won 10 festival awards.

72HORAS was co-directed by audio-visual professional Nicole Freeman (New Zealand) and educator Cristiano Vicente (Brazil). They were inspired to develop the project to provide emerging creatives from marginalised communities with filmmaking opportunities and links into the creative economy. Nicole combined her knowledge of New Zealand’s 48HOURS with Cristiano’s knowledge of Brazilian education, social development and funding to offer events that generated a creative frenzy in Rio de Janeiro.

72HORAS was supported by Riofilme; the Secretary of Culture (State of Rio de Janeiro); Concessionária Porto Novo SA and Porto Maravilh; Museu de Arte do Rio; Museu do Amanhã; CiaRio Brasil; and Centro Técnico Audiovisual.

Published 02 November 2023