Watch Brazilian classics supported by the Hubert Bals Fund on IFFR Unleashed now

Seven features by filmmakers including Marcelo Gomes, Kleber Mendonça Filho and Gabriel Mascaro available to stream now.

IFFR’s connection with Brazilian cinema runs deep. It’s the country our Hubert Bals Fund has supported more than any other in its 35-year history. Many of Brazil’s leading filmmakers – including Kleber Mendonça Filho, Marcelo Gomes, Gabriel Mascaro and Julia De Simone – have benefitted from our support at key moments in their careers.

As the HBF launches a new support scheme for Brazilian cinema together with three leading public and private partners for the promotion of cinema in Brazil, we’re looking back at some of the landmark films we’ve supported in our recent history. 

Watch the breakthrough work from household names like Kleber Mendonça Filho (whose The Secret Agent won him best director at Cannes this year), Marcelo Gomes (Portrait of a Certain Orient, IFFR 2024 Big Screen Competition) and Gabriel Mascaro, who won the Silver Bear at the Berlinale 2025 for The Blue Trail.

How does it work?

Each title is available on a pay-per-view basis: €6 for a feature and €2.50 for a short film. We offer a special Unleashed multi-ticket (rittenkaart) that grants access to either five feature films or five short films. The total cost of the multi-ticket is €25 for five feature films and €10 for five short films, reducing the price per film to €5 for feature films and €2 for short films. Any unused tickets can be used for future releases or other Unleashed titles.

All films are presented in their original language with English subtitles – Neon Bull additionally offers Dutch subtitles and Praia Formosa offers Portuguese subtitles.

Check the regional availability of the films below. All are available to stream in the Netherlands and many worldwide, with the exception of Brazil, until August 26, 23.59 CEST. Find out more in our FAQ.

Alice’s House by Chico Teixeira (HBF Post-production Support 2006, IFFR 2008) – available to watch worldwide, except Brazil

Sexual and emotional deceit undermine the marriage and family life of manicurist Alice, who decides to reconnect with her old teenage boyfriend. Documentary filmmaker Chico Teixeira’s feature debut unfolds as an intense drama and portrait of working-class Brazilian life.

Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures by Marcelo Gomes (HBF Development 1996 & Post-production Support 2005, IFFR 2006) – available to watch worldwide, except Brazil

Atmospheric and bleached road movie about a paradoxical friendship during the Second World War. Johann is a German travelling salesman in aspirin who tries to escape the violent civilisation. In the remote north-east of Brazil, he gives a ride to hitchhiker Ranulpho, who seeks fame and fortune in Rio.

Gomes’s most recent feature, Portrait of a Certain Orient, screened at IFFR 2024 in the Big Screen Competition.

Mutum by Sandra Kogut (HBF Development 2003, IFFR 2008) – available to watch worldwide, except Brazil

How do you cope, at the age of ten, with the harsh realities of rural life in Brazil, the expectations placed on you as the eldest son, and your parents’ violent marriage? A moving glimpse of adult irrationality through the eyes of a child.

Neighbouring Sounds by Kleber Mendonça Filho (HBF Development 2008, HBF Post-production 2011, IFFR 2012 – Tiger Competition) – available to watch in the Netherlands

Meandering past the residents of a wealthy street in Recife, where private security guards ply their trade, this self-assured debut portrays the two sides of the Brazilian Dream. Mendonça Filho scratches the varnish of a culture that revolves around paranoia, fear and revenge.

Mendonça Filho was awarded Best Director at Cannes 2025 for his latest, the gripping 70s-set political thriller The Secret Agent, which also picked up the FIPRESCI Award and the best actor prize for lead for Wagner Moura. 

Neon Bull by Gabriel Mascaro (HBF Development 2010, NFF+HBF 2012, IFFR 2016) – available to watch in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg

On the road with a travelling rodeo troupe through Brazil, the camera registers panoramic views. Sublime images alternate with a less idyllic reality: the hard work amidst the cows. Jointly they form a fabulous choreography, against the background of a rapidly changing society.

Mascaro’s HBF- and CineMart- supported The Blue Trail won him the Silver Bear at the Berlinale earlier this year.

Praia Formosa by Julia De Simone (HBF Development Support 2014, IFFR 2024 – Tiger Competition) – available to watch Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg

The ghosts of the past enter the realm of the present, as Julia De Simone explores life in Rio de Janeiro’s port region with this first foray into fiction, to grapple with the legacy of colonialism and the role of women in Brazil’s history.

Sultry (Mormaço) by Marina Meliande (HBF 2013, IFFR 2018) – available to watch worldwide, except Brazil

Rio de Janeiro, 2016: the city simmers in anticipation of the Olympic Games. Lawyer Ana defends the interests of residents of homes to be replaced by stadiums, roads and luxury hotels. Is the heat affecting her perception or is the struggle becoming visible on her skin? Beautiful, intriguing, stifling debut.