Brazil has 12 films at Berlin International Film Festival

Brazil has 12 entries in the 67th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival, which starts today (Feb. 9) in the German capital and runs until February 19. Considered one of the world's most important film events, the Berlinale, as the festival is known, again has a Brazilian film in the main competition for the Golden Bear award.

Joaquim, a film by Marcelo Gomes, is a Portuguese-Brazilian co-production set in the 18th century, which tells the story of Joaquim José da Silva Xavier until he became known as Tiradentes, the national hero of the Minas Conspiracy of 1789 (Inconfidência Mineira), an uprising in Minas Gerais state for Brazil's independence from Portugal.

The film project was one of the winners in a 2014 Brazilian-Portuguese co-production grant sponsored by Brazil's National Film Agency (ANCINE) and the Portugal's Film and Audiovisual Institute (ICA).

Brazil has won a Golden Bear at Berlinale on two occasions: in 1998 with Walter Salles's Central Station (Central do Brasil), and in 2008 with José Padilha's Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite).

Translated by Mayra Borges