Brazil’s Elas Exportam: Fostering Film and Series Exports of Women-Led Companies

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil’s Elas Exportam training program aims to foster film and series exports of women-led companies by developing leadership skills.

Organized by Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services (MDIC), the program is part of a broader government and industry effort to raise the presence of Brazilian productions abroad.

Debora Ivanov, a partner at Gullane Filmes and president of Instituto +Mulheres, Janaína Silva, director of MDIC’s Department of Export Promotion and Trade Facilitation, and lawyer Raquel Lemos, one of the program’s mentors, highlighted Elas Exportam on a panel at RioMarket, the business section of Rio Film Festival.

The first group of 14 women will complete the 88-hour online training program in November. They are owners, executives and directors of local film and TV production, post-production and dubbing companies looking to establish themselves in the international market.

The course consists of one or two weekly classes with local female mentors with expertise in exporting Brazilian productions. In addition to the classes, the mentors provide one-on-one counseling to participants. Mentors are volunteers and participants pay no fees.

According to Silva, MDIC selected in May participants from seven different states in Brazil, with a predominance of Rio and São Paulo, the two biggest production poles in the country.

The course began in July with a class by Walkiria Barbosa, the Rio Film Festival’s executive director and head of international marketing, who is also the president of the Audiovisual Industry and Commerce Federation (FICA).

The classes cover technical topics — such as market intelligence, export operations, e-commerce, financial education, intellectual property and regulation — and socio-emotional skills, including strategic positioning, persuasive communication and pitch training.

“The program offers a very substantial curriculum of high-quality content. We work with foreign trade and are familiar with university curricula, and I can say that there is no training course in Brazil dedicated to women with the quality offered by the Eles Exportam program,” Ivanov told Variety.

As a partner at Gullane, one of the most internationally active production companies in Brazil, Ivanov has vast experience with exports. According to her, Gullane has sold the rights to its films and series in more than 100 countries. Its productions have reached audiences in more than 190 countries, taking in streaming distribution.

“Elas Exportam contributes not only to the training of women professionals. The program also helps build networks among women, enabling collaboration, information-sharing and the clarification of questions. In addition, the mentors serve as examples of professional success for women who are entering the international market,” Silva told Variety.

MIDC decided to create in 2023 the Elas Exportam program in response to “Women in Foreign Trade: An Analysis for Brazil,” a 2022 study showing that only 14.5% of exporting companies in Brazil had a majority of women among their shareholders, she added. The sixth edition of the program this year was the first one to incorporate the audiovisual sector.

The audiovisual sector’s inclusion in New Industry Brazil (NIB), the Brazilian federal government’s flagship program to revive and modernize the country’s industry, made it possible for the sector to participate in specific MDIC programs such as Elas Exportam, Barbosa said.

“The audiovisual working group within NIB is working to create a major program designed to increase the exports of Brazilian productions. The Oscar win for ‘I’m Still Here,’ the Oscar nominations of ‘The Secret Agent’ and the awards these films received at the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals have strengthened the Brazil brand around the world. The next step is to establish a policy for selling our films and series abroad.”