The tributes will begin on Friday, the 15th, at the festival’s opening night, with the Crystal Kikito, which will be awarded to Rodrigo Santoro, who turns 50 in August. The actor began his career in soap operas but soon stood out in film productions such as “Bicho de Sete Cabeças” (2000), by Laís Bodanzky, and later “Abril Despedaçado” (2001), by Walter Salles. In international cinema, he appeared in “Love Actually” (2003), “300” (2007), “Che” (2008), and “I Love You Phillip Morris” (2009). He was also part of the cast of the series “Lost” (2004) and “Westworld” (2016). Santoro has never stopped working in Brazil, helping Brazilian cinema gain recognition worldwide. His most recent project is the film “O Último Azul,” by Gabriel Mascaro, which won the Silver Bear at the 75th edition of the Berlin Film Festival in February this year, as well as the Best Ibero-American Fiction Film award at the Guadalajara International Film Festival (Mexico). The feature is set in the Amazon, in an almost dystopian Brazil, where the government relocates elderly people to a housing colony where they are meant to “enjoy” their final years of life. Before her forced exile, Tereza (Denise Weinberg), a 77-year-old woman, embarks on a journey to fulfill her last wish. “O Último Azul” will be screened right after the tribute on the 15th.
