With free screenings of sixty Brazilian and international films , Filmambiente kicks off its 15th edition on September 23.
Considered one of the most important in Latin America, the environmental film festival will take place at various venues in Rio and Niterói, as well as featuring online screenings. Learn more about the program.
“Actions and Consequences” is the central theme of this year’s edition
This year’s Filmambiente program is divided into eight sections —four competitive and four thematic —covering feature-length and short films in the genres of fiction, animation, and documentary.
Furthermore, the central theme is “Actions and Consequences,” bringing sustainability—along with climate and social justice—to the forefront of the discussions .
In all, there will be 60 Brazilian and international films. But to finalize this year’s selection, curator Suzana Amado— who founded the festival in 2011—watched nearly 400 films from 60 countries!
“The audience is no longer looking for quantity; it’s looking for relevance,” she says. “The festival’s role is to function as an intelligent filter, capable of broadening perspectives and stimulating critical thinking.”
Highlights of the 15th edition of Filmambiente’s program
The opening ceremony will take place on September 23 at 8:30 p.m., featuring a tribute to biologist Liliane Lodi. She was a pioneer in cetacean conservation in Brazil and coordinator of projects such as “Whales & Dolphins of Rio de Janeiro.”
The film opening the festival is the documentary *Sob as bandeiras, o sol* (2025), by Paraguayan director Juanjo Pereira, who uses forgotten archival footage to expose the Stroessner dictatorship and its connection to authoritarian regimes in Latin America.
The closing film of the competitive section, on September 30, is *Katô: Dreams of the Dark Earth* (2026), by Zaya Ralita Benazzo and Maurizio Benazzo. The documentary follows the Munduruku people of the Amazonian village of Sawré Muybu in their struggle to keep the Tapajós River free of mercury from illegal mining.
The program also includes thematic panels curated by historian Ynaê Lopes dos Santos, under the theme “Rhizome of the Americas: Decolonization in Motion.”
The festival will feature screenings in Rio and Niterói
The complete program for the 15th Filmambiente will be screened at Estação Claro Rio, in Botafogo, with daily screenings between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
However, part of the program will also be available at the Biblioteca Parque Centro, at INES (National Institute of Education for the Deaf), at the MAM Film Archive, and at Cine Arte UFF in Niterói, where films with accessibility features will also be screened .
The festival also features online short film screenings for viewers across Brazil in partnership with Portas Curtas.
Tickets for in-person screenings are free and can be picked up at the venue. For more information, visit the official Filmambiente website.
