BELA FILMES was founded in 2005, in the city of São Paulo. The partners Cristiano Burlan and Henrique Zanoni develop independent artistic projects, both in cinema – with more than 20 films, including short, feature, fiction and documentaries – and in theater, through CIA DOS INFAMES. The works of the producer and the company have already received several awards, among them the Governor of the State Award for Culture, APCA, It's All True, SESC Best Films, Cleyde Yáconis Award, Zé Renato Theater Award. In addition, several films were acquired by Canal Brasil, Arte 1, Sesc Tv, among others. The last ficction, THE MOTHER, was shortlisted to compete for Brazil's representative at the 2023 Oscars, in the Best Feature Film in a Foreign Language category, by the Brazilian Film Academy.
Cia dos Infames, the theatrical branch of the production company, was founded in 2013 and produced 4 shows.
Cristiano Burlan was born in Porto Alegre, in 1975. He is a film and theatre director. In the 1990's he lived in Barcelona, where he directed the experimental cinema group, Super-8. He leaded the drama studies group A Fúria, in São Paulo. He teaches at Academia Internacional de Cinema – AIC and also at Escola Superior de Artes Célia Helena.
Most of his filmography has participated in several important festivals, such as Habana Film Festival, Festival de Málaga, É Tudo Verdade, Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo, Festival de Brasília do Cinema Brasileiro, among others. His most recent documentary “Mataram meu irmão” was the main winner at "É Tudo Verdade 2013", getting the Best Film Prize by the critics and by the jury. It also won the "Prêmio Governador do Estado de São Paulo" and "SESC Melhores Filmes" prizes.
Henrique Zanoni works as an actor, director, editor, producer, screenwriter, and playwright. He is a partner at the film production company Bela Filmes and the founder of the theater company Cia dos Infames.
In cinema, he directed "Who's Afraid?" (alongside Dellani Lima and Ricardo Alves Jr), "Labyrinth," "Who Lost the Roof in Exchange Receives the Stars," and "Brutality." His films have been featured in festivals such as It's All True, DocLisboa, DOCsMX, Festival del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de Havana, Festival du Cinema Bresilien de Paris, Mostra de Cinema de Tiradentes, Kinoforum, Festival de Cinema de Vitória, and Panorama Internacional Coisa de Cinema, among others.
He edited the feature film "Amusement Park" (Fid Marseille, Queer Lisboa) and the short film "Vitória" (Rotterdam and Berlin), both directed by Ricardo Alves Jr., as well as the feature "Ap 420" by Dellani Lima. Zanoni also edited all his own films.
He acted in feature films and series such as "Baby," "Notícias Populares," "Electric Body" (all directed by Marcelo Caetano), "Nosferatu," "The Mother," "Essay on Failure," "In Search of Borges," "In the Void of the Night," "Amateur," "Hamlet," and "Symphony of a Man Alone," all directed by Cristiano Burlan; "Ap 420," by Dellani Lima; "A Metade de Nós," by Flávio Botelho; and "Corpo Presente," by Marcelo Toledo and Paolo Gregori. He was nominated for Best Actor at the SESC Melhores Filmes festival for "Hamlet" and for Best Supporting Actor for "Fome."
Zanoni is also the screenwriter of "Who's Afraid?," "Labyrinth," "Who Lost the Roof in Exchange Receives the Stars," "In Search of Borges," "In the Void of the Night," "Amateur," "Hamlet," and "Brutality."
He produced the films "Paulo Freire: Um Homem do Mundo," "Estopo Balaio," "Ap 420," "In Search of Borges," "In the Void of the Night," "Amateur," "Hamlet," "Sermon of the Fish," and "Fome."
He is the author of plays such as "The Name of Things," "The Lives of Infamous Men," "Perfect Music for Suicide," and "The Smartest Guy on Facebook."
He holds a Master's degree in Culture and Society from the Federal University of Bahia.
Ana Carolina Marinho was born in Natal-RN. She is part of “Coletivo Estopô Balaio” as a playwright and actress, in which she has been developing an artistic residence for six years in the Jardim Romano neighborhood, on the shantytowns of São Paulo. She writes for the magazine Antro Positivo with the goal to cover theater festivals (MIT-SP, Tempo Festival-RJ, FIAC-BA, among others), such as reviewer in the Performative Criticism and in the Antro Dialogues Collective. In 2014 she integrated the movie Hamlet of Cristiano Burlan as an actress and collaborator in the script. In 2015, she participated, alongside the critic and actor Jean-Claude Bernardet, in the movie “FOME”, which garnered two candangos at the International Fesitval of Brasilia. Her partnership with Burlan and JC extends in 2016 in the realization of the movie “Antes do Fim” as writer and actress. “Antes do Fim” , which as a co-production with Canal Brasil, had its first cut screened at the 20th Tiradentes Film Fesitval, the movie will be finalized In July 2017. Also, Ana Carolina Marinho is the screenplay of the movie “Cidade Clandestina” and “A Mãe”, which was selected for the 7th Brazilian CineMundi - International Coproduction Meeting and won the international co-production prize to participate in Cinélatino, Rencontres de Toulouse - FRANCE.
Renato Maia atua como montador, fotógrafo, roteirista e diretor. Tendo colaborado em mais de dez produções da Bela Filmes, recebeu recentemente prêmios de melhor montagem pelo filme "Fome" e pelo documentário "Elegia de um Crime", na edição de 2018 do "Festival É Tudo Verdade". Também em 2018 concluíu seu primeiro longa metragem na direção, "Anestesia". Atualmente está trabalhando na montagem de uma série sobre o educador Paulo Freire, da qual é também um dos roteiristas e fotógrafo. Em paralelo, conclui a montagem do documentário "Corpo e Muro", selecionado para o último Pirenópolis Doc e desenvolve o projeto de um segundo longa metragem como diretor.
