Philadelphia-based Breaking Glass Pictures (BGP) and Brazil’s O2 Play, the distribution arm of O2 Filmes, which is co-owned by Oscar-nominated director Fernando Meirelles (“City of God,” “The Constant Gardener,” “The Two Popes”), have inked a two-way distribution partnership.
The new pact kicks off with BGP’s North American release of a Brazilian drama by Eliane Coster, “Half Brother” (“Meio Irmão”), a timely story of a young man who films a homophobic assault and faces death threats to dissuade him from releasing the footage. Release is slated for LGBTQ celebration, Pride Month, on June 15.
“Being a life-long fan and distributor of Brazilian Cinema, it gives me great pleasure to bring titles to U.S. audiences that may not find domestic distribution otherwise,” said Breaking Glass CEO Rich Wolff. “This partnership was years in the making, and we are thrilled to be working with O2 Play for many releases to come.”
The new pact formalizes a relationship that began in 2019 with BGP’s North American acquisition of Independent Spirit award nominee Alexandre Moratto’s drama “Socrates,” from O2 Play. It continued with some other titles.
“The most important aspect of international distribution is trust, to have a partner you know will work with you and dedicate themselves to do the best for your content,” said Igor Kupstas, director of O2 Play. “After a few years of conversations and exchanges with Breaking Glass, it’s a pleasure to announce that we are bringing our companies closer, and pushing our collective libraries in both the American and Brazilian markets, through this deal.”
O2 Play will announce its first release of a BGP title in the Brazil market by the third quarter of 2021.
Founded in 2009 by industry veterans Wolff and Richard Ross, Breaking Glass Pictures is a film distribution and media company that has released a diverse slate of international films across all formats, including in festivals, theatrical, DVD and VOD, in North America. Among its Latin American pick-ups are Chilean drama “The Strong Ones,” Cuban horror pic “Is That You?” and gay-trans drama “Marilyn,” the feature debut of Argentina’s Martin Rodríguez Redondo.
Founded by Igor Kupstas in 2013, O2 Play has released more than 40 theatrical movies, including “The Irishman” and “The Two Popes” for Netflix. O2 Play is an official aggregator of platforms like iTunes, Netflix, Google Play, and local VOD services such as Now, Vivo and Looke. Parent company O2 Filmes is run by Meirelles and his associates Paulo Morelli and Andrea Barata Ribeiro.
Half Brother
Courtesy of O2 Play