Friday, September 4, 2026

“Rehearsing Brazil”: Documentary About the Tom Jobim Youth Orchestra Arrives in Italy for International Festival

Directed by Elisa Bracher and produced by Ana Cláudia Streva of Nós Filmes, the film will be screened on September 5 at the FilMuzik Arts Festival, during “A Day for Brazil,” a special program dedicated to Brazilian cinema

The Brazilian feature-length documentary “Rehearsing Brazil”, directed by Elisa Bracher and produced by Ana Cláudia Streva of Nós Filmes, has been selected for the international program of the 8th edition of the FilMuzik Arts Festival in Italy. The official screening will take place on September 5, 2026, at the Giardino di Palazzo Amaduri in Gioiosa Ionica, in the province of Reggio Calabria, during “A Day for Brazil,” a special program dedicated to Brazilian productions. The director will be present for a conversation with the audience following the screening.

The film takes viewers behind the scenes of the Tom Jobim Youth Orchestra, a music education project managed by Santa Marcelina Cultura, revealing the encounter between concert music and the richness of Brazilian popular music.

Conceived and directed by Elisa Bracher, with co-direction by Gustavo Ribeiro, the documentary follows the experiences of the young musicians who make up the orchestra, whose members are selected through a competitive selection process. Led by conductors Nelson Ayres and Tiago Costa, they immerse themselves in Brazilian popular music and are challenged to explore different genres, composers, arrangements, and sounds.

One of the Tom Jobim Youth Orchestra’s greatest distinctions is its exclusive dedication to Brazilian music. It is the only orchestra devoted exclusively to the music of its own country, bringing young musicians closer to the different languages and traditions that shape Brazilian music.

The film also documents encounters with important figures in Brazilian music, including Guinga, Mônica Salmaso, and Ricardo Hertz, who take part in this exchange between different generations.

Coming from diverse musical backgrounds, many of the young musicians have training rooted in classical music and are invited to immerse themselves in a repertoire that demands new ways of listening, interpreting, and creating. More than simply learning new works, they discover another way of making music: listening to one another, engaging in dialogue, and building collectively.

FilMuzik Arts Festival: Cinema, Music, and Cultural Exchange

The FilMuzik Arts Festival is an international cultural festival dedicated to the relationship between cinema and music, promoting dialogue between different artistic languages and cultures. The event celebrates independent cinema and creates opportunities for exchange among filmmakers, musicians, artists, and cultural professionals from different countries.

Held in the Calabria region of southern Italy, the festival features programming in the cities of Locri and Gioiosa Ionica and brings together national and international productions with strong connections to music and the arts.

The participation of “Rehearsing Brazil” takes place as part of “A Day for Brazil,” a special day of the program dedicated to Brazilian cinema. In addition to Elisa Bracher’s documentary, four other Brazilian productions will be presented.

For the film, this participation represents an opportunity to introduce an international audience to a Brazilian experience in music education centered on the preservation, reinvention, and dissemination of Brazilian music.

Elisa Bracher’s Participation

Director Elisa Bracher was officially invited by the festival to attend the screening of “Rehearsing Brazil” and participate in a public presentation followed by a question-and-answer session with the audience.

She will also take part in meetings and networking activities with filmmakers, artists, institutions, and cultural professionals invited by the festival.

FilMuzik Arts Festival — Event Information

Event: 8th Edition of the FilMuzik Arts Festival
Film: Rehearsing Brazil
International Title: Concert About Brazil with The Tom Jobim Youth Orchestra
Screening Date: September 5, 2026
Venue: Giardino di Palazzo Amaduri
City: Gioiosa Ionica, Reggio Calabria, Italy
Program: A Day for Brazil
Director: Elisa Bracher
Special Guest: Elisa Bracher — post-screening conversation and Q&A
Festival Cities: Locri and Gioiosa Ionica, Calabria, Italy

Technical Credits

Title: Rehearsing Brazil
International Title: Concert About Brazil with The Tom Jobim Youth Orchestra
Format: Feature-length documentary
Country of Origin: Brazil

Director: Elisa Sawaya Botelho Bracher
Co-Director: Gustavo Ribeiro
Producers: Ana Cláudia Streva and Elisa Bracher
Executive Producer: Ana Cláudia Streva
Production Design: Adriano Lírio
Production Managers: Livia Barros and Lia Rezende
Director of Photography: Gui Massago
Location Sound: Daniel Henrique
Screenplay: Selma Perez
Editing: Selma Perez
Sound Editing and Mixing: Sonideria
Image Post-Production: Quanta
Management of the Tom Jobim Youth Orchestra: Santa Marcelina Cultura
Conductors: Nelson Ayres and Tiago Costa
Production Company: Nós Filmes

Forthood: The Sustainable Cover Created by Vitor Mateus to Protect Water and Reduce Environmental Impact

From the interior of Rio de Janeiro to an innovation concept with international reach, entrepreneur Vitor Mateus developed a solution focused on protecting stored water and controlling its temperature inside water tanks.

Born in 1980 in Bom Jesus do Itabapoana, in the interior of Rio de Janeiro, Vitor Mateus Faria Monteiro built his business career driven by a desire to challenge conventional approaches and constantly seek new solutions.

From an early age, Vitor questioned traditional paths and believed it was possible to transform ideas into opportunities. At the age of 20, he moved to Macaé in search of work. He started working at a restaurant and, to supplement his income, began selling sweets after work. This experience awakened his entrepreneurial spirit.

In 2002, he entered the electrical materials industry and quickly stood out in the commercial sector. Over the years, he gained experience in sales, business, and management, while continuing to look for an opportunity to develop something of his own.

The Origins of Forthood

The turning point came in 2012, when Vitor began observing everyday products and situations with a recurring question: what could be done better?

During this process, he identified an opportunity related to water storage. Water tanks directly exposed to heat can experience an increase in the temperature of the stored water and remain vulnerable to external factors.

From this insight, the idea for Forthood was born.

After years of research, development, and improvements, a thermal cover was created to protect water tanks and help control the temperature of stored water. The solution was patented in 2017 and became the company's main project.

Forthood Combines Sustainability and Technology for Water Tank Protection and Thermal Control

The Forthood concept is designed to combine innovation, practicality, and sustainability in a solution focused on water storage.

The company seeks to contribute to the protection of stored water, providing greater comfort for users while helping to reduce impacts associated with water heating.

More than simply developing a cover for water tanks, Forthood aims to transform an everyday need into a technological solution with potential applications across different markets.

From the beginning, Vitor's vision was international. He began envisioning applications for the technology in different regions around the world, including areas where high temperatures pose a challenge to water storage.

A Journey Driven by Innovation

Vitor Mateus's story is directly connected to the philosophy behind Forthood: not accepting a problem as something definitive, but instead seeking new ways to solve it.

From his experience in the interior of Rio de Janeiro to the business world, from selling sweets to working in the electrical sector and, later, developing products and patents, his journey has been marked by his ability to identify opportunities where others saw only difficulties.

Today, Forthood carries this same vision, focusing on quality, innovation, sustainability, and the development of solutions for the future of stored water.

For Vitor, Forthood represents more than a product. It is the realization of an idea developed over many years and a way of thinking based on a simple yet transformative question:

“How can we do it better?”

It is from this question that a proposal emerges combining technology, sustainability, and innovation — beginning with one of the most essential elements for life: water.