Anitta, Rodrigo Santoro, and Oscar-Nominated Director Lead Brazil's Audiovisual Leap with Sci-Fi Blockbuster for Prime Video

Brazil's audiovisual industry is poised for a significant advancement with the upcoming release of the science fiction film "Carrera de bestias" (Beast Race) on Amazon Prime Video. Directed by the internationally acclaimed Fernando Meirelles, known for "City of God" and "The Two Popes," the movie features a star-studded cast including Brazilian pop icon Anitta, actor Rodrigo Santoro, and emerging talents Matheus Abreu and Thainá Duarte.

The film is set in a near-future Rio de Janeiro, a city starkly divided by class and grappling with the aftermath of an environmental disaster that has created a new, wild reality. A central element of this dystopian world is the "Carrera de bestias," a deadly competition. In this event, impoverished individuals, referred to as "Beasts," are remotely controlled by wealthy elites, known as "Players," as they vie for a life-changing cash prize.

"Carrera de bestias" builds upon Brazil's growing presence in the science fiction genre, which has increasingly used dystopian futures to reflect on contemporary social issues. Earlier successes like Netflix's "3%" and the critically acclaimed "Bacurau" have paved the way, showcasing Brazilian productions that explore themes of social inequality, resistance, and critique of power structures on an international scale. This new film aims to bring that tradition to a more industrial and popular level.