Authorization for Filming in Brazil
Foreign companies that want to film in Brazil need special documentation to do so legally. Read the article to learn what documentations are needs to be provided to act within the law when filming.
Foreigners who intend to make news reports, films, recordings or capture moving images in Brazil (with or without sound) have to previously ask for ANCINE's authorization. ANCINE is short for Agência Nacional de Cinema, the national movies agency that is responsible for inter-mediating at the Brazilian diplomatic missions abroad, the requests for proper visa concession for technicians and artists, so they can participate in filmings in the country.
How to Request Authorization
Apart from foreign journalistic productions, all of the others have to contact a Brazilian production company that will make contact with ANCINE. First, the Brazilian company communicates with ANCINE about its interest and responsibility in making the films or recordings, through a form available in this link. It’s also necessary to present the following documentation:
- Copy of the contract between the foreign production company or person that is legally responsible for the production, and the Brazilian production company, and should indicate the mutual responsibilities, form of payment and the expiration date of the contract.
- Copy of the translated contract mentioned, if it was written in a foreign language.
- Provisional plan of filming/recording, indicating the dates and the places (Municipality/Federal Unit) in the Brazilian territory where the works will happen.
- Copy of the identification sheets of the passport of each one of the foreign workers.
The Brazilian company will be the one responsible for making the customs clearance of all the temporary material used for the production, giving full support to the foreign company. Any alterations in the originally established conditions have to be reported to ANCINE through a form. Data like:
- Change in the Brazilian diplomatic mission to which the visa request is destined.
- Inclusion or exclusion of technicians and artists.
- Deferral/alteration in the temporary stay term of the technicians and artists in the country.
- Change in the places where the filming/recording will take place.
- Cancellation of the authorized activity.
The visa is issued abroad, on the Brazilian diplomatic missions, once ANCINE approves the the concession of visa and provisional stay in the country. The validity of the visa is determined by the mission, according to the length duration of the filming/recording chronogram.
It may also be necessary to ask for an authorization from CET, the Companhia de Engenharia de Tráfego, which is the Traffic Engineering Department, in case the filming is happening in some street. There are different authorizations in this case, whose prices vary from BRL 148.95 to BRL 1,747.45. The complete table of services is available in Portuguese, here, under the title “Filmagem, fotografia, produção de audiovisuais e similares”, which is filming, photography, audiovisual production and similar.
Some cities may have specific forms which must be filled in order to provide the authorization for filming, which must be checked at the City Halls.
Journalistic Productions
The production of foreign audiovisual journalistic works have to be communicated straight to the Brazilian diplomatic missions abroad, so that the proper authorizations can be issued. In these cases, the people going to Brazil to work can apply for a temporary visa as foreign newspaper, radio, television or agency correspondents. There may be internal demands, for instance, a special authorization to film in a hospital, but these are local specifications, not migratory ones, and need to be checked in the specific places where the filming will occur.