RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — French star Juliette Binoche has presented at the 27th edition of the Rio International Film Fest the premiere of “In-I in Motion,” her first film as a director, at a gala session at Rio de Janeiro’s downtown landmark theater Odeon.
Binoche said she plans eventually to work in Brazil: “I would love to, I would love to. I have an idea. So, it will come one day, I hope.”
“In-I in Motion” charts the creative process behind a performance co-created by Binoche and acclaimed British choreographer and dancer Akram Khan in 2007. At the gala session on the night of Oct. 5 at the Odeon, Binoche mentioned Robert Redford watched the performance and encouraged her to make the documentary.
“I spent years sitting in an editing room and working on the story of the film. It is a lot of thinking and being in touch with your intuition. It’s very close to acting, because you have to stay with the sensation of what feels right to you, what is truthful to you,” Binoche told Variety.
The France-Brazil Season 2025, whose agreement has been signed by France’s president President Emmanuel Macron and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, celebrates 200-years of diplomatic relations and ties between the two countries.
As part of the pact, Rio Fest, which takes place over Oct. 2-10, is screening 74 recent French pics, additionally to older productions. Sophie Letourneur will be at the festival to present her latest feature film, “L’Aventure,” as well as two previous films, “Voyages en Italie” and “Enormous.”
Blandine Lenoir brings “Zouzou” and “Annie Colère”; Romane Bohringer brings “Blurred Love” (“L’amour Flou”) and her latest film, presented at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, “Tell Her That I Love Her” (“Dites-lui que je l’aime”).
The filmmakers will also participate in Q&As with festival audiences after the screenings.
The program of French female directors also includes “Saint Omer” (2022) by Alice Diop; “L’amour et les Forêts” (2023) by Valérie Donzelli; “Grand Central” (2013) and the acclaimed “Vie Privée” (2025) by Rebecca Zlotowski, a film selected for Cannes; and “Couture” (2025) by Alice Winocour, starring Angelina Jolie and Louis Garrel, selected for both Toronto and San Sebastian.
Focused on the business sector of the market, Festival do Rio and RioMarket are holding its first Rendez-Vous Unifrance au Festival do Rio, which brings together Latin American distributors and exhibitors with French sales companies and producers.
Around 20 French companies are at Festival do Rio for meetings. The initiative brings professionals together for roundtable discussions and private meetings to foster ideas and business, to promote the distribution of more French and European productions in Brazil. The event is promoted by the festival in collaboration with Unifrance.
“This connection [with France] represents more than a cultural exchange. It is the result of a long-standing relationship that enriches the festival’s program, broadening the spectrum with the involvement of film schools, business meetings and a delegation of talent that allows for Brazil to be seen as an important market for French cinema and a boost to audiovisual relationships between the two countries,” said Ilda Santiago, Rio Fest’s Executive Director, Programming & Int’l Projects.
