Unreleased in Brazil, the film is led by Denise Weinberg, with Rodrigo Santoro, Adanilo, and Miriam Socarrás in the cast.
Directed by Gabriel Mascaro (“Neon Bull” and “Divine Love”), “O Último Azul” (“The Blue Trail” in English) will be the opening film of the 53rd Gramado Film Festival, screened out of competition on August 15 at the Palácio dos Festivais. Premiering in Brazil and set for nationwide release on August 28, “O Último Azul” won the Silver Bear at the 75th Berlinale earlier this year. The film also earned Gabriel Mascaro the Ecumenical Jury Prize and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Award, as well as wide acclaim. On Sunday (15), “O Último Azul” won Best Ibero-American Fiction Film at the Guadalajara International Film Festival (Mexico), where actress Denise Weinberg also received the Maguey Award (Queer Cinema) for Best Performance.
Set in the Amazon, in an almost dystopian Brazil, the story follows a government policy transferring elderly people to a housing colony where they are to “enjoy” their final years. Before her forced exile, 77-year-old Tereza (Denise Weinberg) sets off on a journey to fulfill her last wish. Rodrigo Santoro, Adanilo, and Cuban actress Miriam Socarrás also star in the cast. The production, centered on resistance and aging along the Amazon rivers, also passed through countries such as Colombia, Argentina, Turkey, Portugal, and Australia.
Produced by Desvia (Brazil) and Cinevinay (Mexico), in co-production with Globo Filmes (Brazil), Quijote Films (Chile), Viking Film (Netherlands), and distributed by Vitrine Filmes in Brazil, “O Último Azul” was produced by Rachel Daisy Ellis (“Neon Bull,” “Rojo”) and Sandino Saravia Vinay, associate producer of “Roma” by Alfonso Cuarón and co-producer of Mascaro’s previous films.
The opening night of the Gramado Film Festival — this year curated by Caio Blat, Camila Morgado, and Marcos Santuário — is a prestigious platform for the debut of major national titles with international careers. Landmark Brazilian films have premiered there, such as “Aquarius,” “Bacurau,” “Retratos Fantasmas” by Kleber Mendonça Filho, “Motel Destino” by Karim Aïnouz, and “The Second Mother” by Anna Muylaert.
The Gramado Film Festival — the oldest uninterrupted film festival in Brazil and part of Rio Grande do Sul’s Historical and Cultural Heritage — will be held from August 13 to 23 in the Serra Gaúcha, with its official opening on August 15. The Festival is organized by Gramadotur, the city’s tourism and culture agency.
SYNOPSIS
Tereza is 77 years old and lives in an industrialized city in the Amazon. She receives an official government order to move to a mandatory housing colony where seniors are expected to “enjoy” their final years, freeing the younger generation to work without concerns for the elderly. Before her forced exile, Tereza embarks on a journey through rivers and tributaries to fulfill a final wish that may change her fate forever.
MAIN CAST
Denise Weinberg (Tereza), Rodrigo Santoro (Cadu), Miriam Socarrás (Roberta), and Adanilo (Ludemir)
ADDITIONAL CAST
Rosa Malagueta (Esmeraldina), Clarissa Pinheiro (Joana), Dimas Mendonça (Ivan), Daniel Ferrat (Bruno), Heitor Lóris (Daniel), Rafael Cesar (Dalson), Isabela Catão (Vanessa), Daniela Reis (Junia), Diego Bauer (Genivaldo), Aldenor Santos (Clandestine door sailor), Tony Ferreira (Arlindo), Karol Medeiros (Michely), Erismar Fernandes (Orla), Júlia Kahane (Karoline), Robson Ney (Eliseu), Luana Brandão (Natalia), Ítalo Rui (Paula), Amanda Costa (Nina), Ítalo Bruce (Pedro), Matheus Sabbá (Pastor TV), Paulo Queiroz (Felix), Wallace Abreu (Marcos), Jôce Mendes (Leila), Rhuann Gabriel (Romario), Arthur Gabriel (Jansen), Maria Alice (Cleide), Ana Oliveira (Patricia), Maurício Santtos (Croupier), Klindson Cruz (André), Isadora Gibson (Masseuse)
CREW
Production: Desvia (Brazil), Cinevinay (Mexico)
Co-production: Globo Filmes (Brazil), Quijote Films (Chile), Viking Film (Netherlands)
Producers: Rachel Daisy Ellis, Sandino Saravia Vinay
Co-producers: Giancarlo Nasi, Marleen Slot
Director: Gabriel Mascaro
Writers: Gabriel Mascaro, Tibério Azul
Cinematography: Guillermo Garza AMC
Editing: Sebastían Sepúlveda, Omar Guzmán
Music: Memo Guerra
Funding: Ancine FSA, BRDE, SUAT, Funcultura, Banco do Brasil, EFICINE, Actinver, Focine/Foprocine, Fondo de Fomento Audiovisual, Ibermedia, Hubert Bals/Netherlands Film Fund/Brazil-Mexico Co-production Fund
Markets/Pitching: Cinemart, IFC
Distribution: Vitrine Filmes
GABRIEL MASCARO | Director
Gabriel Mascaro (1983) is a Brazilian director and screenwriter based in Recife, best known for his films “Neon Bull” (Venice, 2015), “Divine Love” (Sundance, 2019), and “August Winds” (Locarno, 2014). His features have received more than 50 international awards, and “Neon Bull” was named one of the Top 10 Films of 2016 by The New York Times. That same year, Mascaro had a retrospective at Lincoln Center in New York. “O Último Azul” is his latest film, selected for the Competition at Berlinale 2025.
DENISE WEINBERG | Tereza
Award-winning Brazilian actress Denise Weinberg received the APCA Award for Best Theatre Actress in 2016 for the play “The Testament of Mary.” In 2006, she won the Shell Award for Best Actress for “Oração Para um Pé de Chinelo,” as well as the APCA Award for the same production. In film, she has received three awards for her performances in “BMW Vermelho” (2001) by Eduardo Ramos, “Quase Nada” (2000) by Sergio Resende, and the short “Em Nome do Pai” (2000) by Julio Pessoa.
Some of her theatre roles include “Os Imortais,” “The Maids,” “Final Dance,” “On the Possibility of Joy in the World,” “Buried Child,” “Autumn, Winter,” “Anna Weiss,” “Oração Para um Pé de Chinelo,” “Arsenic and Old Lace,” “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant,” “The Accident,” “The Serpent,” and “Razor in the Flesh.” On TV, she debuted in HBO’s “Alice,” and also appeared in “Maysa: When the Heart Sings,” “Dalva and Herivelto: A Love Song” on Globo. She starred in the third season of HBO’s “Psi,” for which she was nominated for Best Actress at the 2018 International Emmy Awards.
She has appeared in the telenovelas “Amor Eterno Amor,” “A Teia,” and most recently “Éramos Seis,” all on Globo. Her recent film roles include “Greta,” “My Hindu Friend,” “De Pernas Pro Ar 2 and 3,” “Super Nada,” “De Pernas Pro Ar,” “Salve Geral,” “Linha de Passe,” “Onde Anda Você?,” “My Father – Rua Alguém, 5555,” “Lost Zweig,” “Lara,” “Em Nome do Pai” (short), “Quase Nada,” “Mauá: The Emperor and the King,” and “War Canudos.”
RODRIGO SANTORO | Cadu
Born in 1975 in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Rodrigo Santoro is an actor and voice artist. With over 30 years of career and about 70 audiovisual projects — more than half of them international — he gained recognition through performances in films such as “Brainstorm” (2000) by Laís Bodanzky, “Behind the Sun” (2001) by Walter Salles, and “Carandiru” (2003) by Hector Babenco. These earned him several awards and opened doors for international work. In 2004, he received the Chopard Trophy at the Cannes Film Festival.
After roles in “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” (2003) and “Love Actually” (2003), he split his time between national and international projects, including the series “Lost” (2006–2007), the blockbuster “300” (2006) and its sequel “300: Rise of an Empire” (2014), “Westworld” (2016–2020 on HBO), “The Translator” (2018), among many others. In 2008, he competed at Cannes with two different films simultaneously: “Che: Part One” and “Lion’s Den.” His recent Brazilian works include the Netflix hit series “Bom Dia, Verônica” (2024), the feature “7 Prisoners” (2021) by Alexandre Moratto, which premiered at Venice, “Monica and Friends: Bonds” (2019) by Daniel Rezende, and the animation “Noah’s Ark” (2025), the biggest animation project in Brazil inspired by a song by Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim.
After eight years, Rodrigo returns to the Berlinale as part of the cast of “O Último Azul” by Gabriel Mascaro, selected for the event’s Main Competition. Upcoming projects include “Corrida dos Bichos” by Fernando Meirelles and Ernesto Solis, and “O Filho de Mil Homens” by Daniel Rezende, an adaptation of the novel by Portuguese writer Walter Hugo Mãe.
ADANILO | Ludemir
Indigenous actor Adanilo is a rising talent. At only 33, he is enjoying a strong streak of work in TV and film. Awaiting the release of the Argentine film “Eureka” by director Lisandro Alonso, he recently appeared in the opening of Globo’s telenovela “Renascer,” playing the young Deocleciano. He also starred in the feature “Noites Alienígenas” (2022), directed by Sérgio de Carvalho and widely awarded at that year’s Gramado Festival. In 2024, he returns to the spotlight in Globo’s 7 PM soap “Volta por Cima” as the witty bus driver Sidney, who’s also a samba fan, “bate-bola” reveler, and ladies’ man.
DESVIA | Production Company
Desvia is an independent Brazilian production company founded in 2010 by director Gabriel Mascaro and producer-director Rachel Daisy Ellis. The company focuses on producing innovative narrative cinema. It has vast experience in international co-productions, and its films have premiered at top festivals (Cannes, Venice, Locarno, Toronto, San Sebastián, IDFA, Rotterdam, Berlin) and have been widely distributed internationally.
GLOBO FILMES | Co-producer
Globo Filmes has been supporting and empowering Brazilian audiovisual storytelling since 1998, building partnerships that help entertain, enchant, and inspire through great Brazilian stories. Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2023, the company has produced and co-produced more than 500 films with an accumulated audience of over 260 million viewers. Its catalog includes box-office hits like “Minha Irmã e Eu,” “Os Farofeiros 2,” “Tropa de Elite 2,” and “Minha Mãe é uma Peça 3,” as well as critically acclaimed titles like “2 Filhos de Francisco,” “Marighella,” “The Second Mother,” “Pedágio,” and “Carandiru.” It also includes internationally awarded films such as “City of God” (four Oscar nominations) and “Bacurau,” which won the Jury Prize at Cannes.
VITRINE FILMES | Distributor
Vitrine Filmes is an independent film distributor that has been promoting Brazilian and Latin American audiovisual productions for 15 years. It pioneered the decentralization of Brazil’s exhibition circuit with the Sessão Vitrine project and has expanded with initiatives like Vitrine España (production/distribution in Europe), the Manequim label (mainstream titles), the Vitrine Lab online course, and Vitrine Produções, which focuses on developing new Brazilian projects.
Over 5 million people have watched Vitrine films in theaters. Highlights include “Bacurau” (Cannes Jury Prize), “Another Round” (Oscar for Best Foreign Film), and “Nosso Sonho” (Claudinho and Buchecha biopic, Brazil’s highest-grossing film of 2023). In 2025, Vitrine released “Baby” by Marcelo Caetano; “Kasa Branca” by Luciano Vidigal; and restored 4K versions of “Saneamento Básico” and “Ilha das Flores” by Jorge Furtado. Upcoming releases include “Um Lobo Entre os Cisnes” by Marcos Schechtman and Helena Varvaki; “O Último Azul” by Gabriel Mascaro; and “O Agente Secreto” by Kleber Mendonça Filho, which recently won Best Director and Best Actor (Wagner Moura) at the Cannes Festival.
