Team

João Amorim is a film director who focuses on creating animation and documentaries. In 2010, he released his first feature length documentary film ”2012 – A Time for Change”, with David Lynch, Sting, Ellen Page and Gilberto Gil, among others. In 2011, Reuters News Agency named “2012” as one of the 10 films behind the Occupy Wall Street movement. João was also director of animation on “Chicago 10”, a film that opened the Sundance Film Festival in 2007 and for which João was nominated for an Emmy in 2009. He worked for many years in New York as director of animation on films such as: “Footsteps in Africa”, “For the Next 7 Generations” and “Ghetto Physics”. João also worked as a professor of MA in Animation students at NYU, Parsons, and the New York Academy of Art. In 2011, he directed the series, “É Coisa Nossa!” (It’s Our Thing) starring Zeca Baleiro and that aired on the Canal Futura channel in Brazil. He also directed the documentaries “Água e Cooperação, Reflexões para um Novo Tempo” (Water and Cooperation, Reflections for a New Time), “A Voz das Avós” (The Voice of the Grandmothers) and “Agroflorestar” (Agroforestry), all of which aired on the CineBrasil TV channel. More recently, he signed off as director and producer of the new “Sesame Street”, in addition to directing the animation for “O Desafio do Elmo” (Elmo’s Challenge). He is in the final phases of production for two series, the “Manual de Sobrevivência para o Século 21” (Survival Manual for the 21st Century), starring Brazilian actor Marcos Palmeira, and the animation series “Orozimba e o Oboé” (Orozimba and the Oboe).

Sara Rocha is a film producer and audiovisual manager based in the Federal District of Brazil. She is the founder of Saravá Audiovisual and a partner at Paloma Cinematográfica. Sara has produced award-winning documentary feature films, including Anabazys, screened at the Venice Film Festival; Olho Nu, about Ney Matogrosso, shown at Visions du Réel (Switzerland); and Mr. Sganzerla, which won Best Film at the It’s All True International Documentary Film Festival. In television, she has contributed to the series Retratos da Terra and three seasons of SerTão Glauber. In collaboration with Amorim Filmes, she produced two seasons of the children’s series Thiago & Ísis and the Secrets of Brazil and the feature documentary Tropical Utopia. She is the president of BOX Companhia de Arte, which co-manages the historic Cine Brasília. Sara served as Audiovisual Coordinator at the Department of Culture of the Federal District and was the Executive Director of the 47th, 50th, and 51st editions of the Brasília Festival of Brazilian Cinema. She also held the positions of Chief of Staff and Director of Audiovisual Policy at the Secretariat for Audiovisual of Brazil’s Ministry of Culture. Additionally, she worked at EBC/TV Brasil as Manager of Special Programming. As Executive Director of Tempo Glauber, she led the restoration of Glauber Rocha’s short and feature-length films, which were exhibited at the Cannes and Berlin Film Festivals and incorporated into the MoMA (New York) collection. She also oversaw the recognition of Rocha’s archive as a Cultural Heritage of Public and Social Interest, and its transfer to the Cinemateca Brasileira.

Carlos Duba holds a degree in Design from PUC-Rio and studied animation in the Netherlands at the Rietveld Academie and Rijksacademie voor Beeldende Kunsten. He is an animation director, creative director, cartoonist, musician, and animator, with a focus on children’s and youth animation. Over the years, he has participated in several editions of Anima Mundi, including with the award-winning short Don’t Get Overloaded (Não Fique Pilhado) — a collaboration with Vicente Amorim and João Amorim. He animated the Dutch children’s series BeeHappy (10 episodes), focused on agriculture, and created and animated 16 segments for the TV show Vai e Vem, hosted by Preta Gil and aired on GNT. He co-directed and animated (alongside Fabiana Eglesias) 16 animated segments for Adriana Dutra’s feature-length documentary Fumando Espero. Carlos also directed, created, and animated three children’s DVDs — Toquinho/Casa de Brinquedos, Chico e Vinícius para Crianças, and O Que É O Que É? — all for Universal Music. His work includes 16 animations for the U.S. feature film Ghetto Physics by director Will Arntz; animated commercials for television (for supermarkets Unidos and Bramil); and direction, animation, and musical composition for the series Elmo’s Challenge, from Sesame Street, aired on TV Cultura and TV Brasil. Currently, he is directing animations for the series Survival Manual for the 21st Century, directed by João Amorim and starring Marcos Palmeira. He also directed and animated Orozimba and the Oboe, and two episodes of the recent Living Together series for Sesame Street Brazil. Additionally, he created animations for João Amorim’s documentaries Water and Cooperation, The Voice of Grandmothers, and Agroflorestar, all broadcast on CineBrasil TV.

Cesar Coelho is a veteran of the Brazilian animation industry. He began his career as an illustrator and, over the years, has produced and directed more than 250 commercials, bumpers, and TV show openings for clients such as TV Globo, as well as award-winning short films featured at international festivals. He is the co-founder and director of ANIMA MUNDI — the largest animation film festival in Latin America — and is also the creator and coordinator of ANIMA FORUM, a conference focused on the development of the Brazilian animation industry. Additionally, he served as animation director on various TV Globo productions, worked as a consultant for the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee, and is the coordinator and co-author of the book Animation Now, published by the German publishing house Taschen.

Fabio Brasil holds a degree in screenwriting and film directing from the École Supérieure de Réalisation Audiovisuelle in Paris. He is the writer and director of several fiction short films produced in France and has directed numerous documentary series and educational films in Brazil, Mozambique, and West Africa. Fabio has directed and written programs for channels such as TV Brasil, GNT, Globonews, Space Channel, Futura, MTV, and TV Globo. As a director of photography, he has worked on short films in France. As a filmmaker and screenwriter, he was recently awarded funding by FSA PRODECINE 01 for the production of his debut fiction feature film Ash Wednesday (Quarta-feira de Cinzas). More recently, he served as director of photography for Sesame Street campaigns and filmed the documentary series Survival Manual for the 21st Century starring Marcos Palmeira — both produced by Amorim Filmes.

Gustavo Pastorino is an editor, director of photography, and colorist. As an editor, he works on the TV series Survival Manual for the 21st Century and contributed to the political campaign of Bismarck Maia for mayor of Aracati/CE. Previously, as director of photography and colorist, he worked on short films such as Gaia and the Gods — a project by Isabela Rocha from the band InNatura, formerly Natiruts (2015) — Banalidades (2016), and the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, as well as commercials, documentaries, events, and music videos.

João Santiago graduated in Advertising and Propaganda in 2015. Born and raised in Brasília, he has worked in the audiovisual market for over six years, taking on roles such as editor, animator, cinematographer, and director. Currently, he works as an editor and animator on feature films and documentary series, as well as fiction works and commercials. He edited the first season of the series Thiago & Ísis and the Secrets of Brazil, which was scheduled to air in 2022 on EBC and the Public Television Network.

Isaac Braz holds a degree in Visual Arts and Image Technology. He is a cartoonist, animator, character designer, and animation director, working in the audiovisual market since 2003. His experience spans short and medium-length films, TV commercials, and institutional documentaries. His animated films Do You Love Me (2007) and Don’t Be a Square (2015), which he directed and animated, were screened at national and international festivals. He has worked as an animator on films and series such as Aurora Sem Dia and Tita e Seus Amigos for Toscographics; Galeria Tatu by Marcos Magalhães; and Sesame Street Brazil, Orozimba and Oboé, and Manual do Mundo for AMORIM FILMES. He also animated commercial content, including bumpers for Multishow and Parental Control/ABTA for GLOBOSAT, and a promotional piece for the fashion brand Reserva. Isaac animated the opening sequence of the Sai de Baixo TV special for GLOBOSAT, as well as the opening of the documentary No Balanço de Kelly, directed by André Weller. As a character designer, he contributed to projects such as Looking for Hugo, Galeria Tatu, The New Adventures of Kaiser (by Marcos Magalhães), and Control/ABTA for GLOBOSAT. He has also shared his expertise as a guest speaker and workshop leader on the topic of portfolios, invited by the Fundação Cultural do Pará, and served as a temporary professor for the complementary discipline “FAEI” at the University of the Amazon (UNAMA).

Rafaela Camelo is a film director and screenwriter from Brasília. She holds a degree in Audiovisual Studies from the University of Brasília (UnB) and a postgraduate degree in Screenwriting from FAAP. Her first feature film, The Nature of Invisible Things — a Brazil-Chile co-production — will premiere at the 2025 Berlinale. She was one of the screenwriters for Betinho: No Fio da Navalha, released on Globoplay in 2024. Rafaela has also worked on documentary series such as Bela Raízes for Canal Futura and Survival Manual for the 21st Century for CineBrasilTV, both released in 2018. She has been a member of the Paradiso Network since 2019, when she received the Cabíria Award for Best Feature Screenplay. Her short film The Beads, co-directed with Emanuel Lavor, was selected for the 2023 Berlinale and won Best Short Film awards at the 36th FilmFest Dresden and at Panorama Coisa de Cinema. Prior to that, her short The Mystery of Flesh, which she wrote and directed, was selected for Sundance 2019 and won Best Film at both the Biarritz Latin America Film Festival and Fest New Directors/New Films. She has participated in industry labs such as Produire au Sud and BrLab, and won the main award at the 2019 BAL-Lab (France). In 2021, she was selected for the Latin American program of Berlinale Talents. In 2023, she was named by Variety as one of the new talents of Brazilian cinema. In 2025, she was selected once again for the Berlinale, this time in the Generation section.

Alice Chaves holds a degree in Film and Audiovisual Studies from ESPM-Rio and works as a production assistant, with a strong focus on grant applications and film festivals. She is currently part of the team at Amorim Filmes, a Brasília-based production company dedicated to the creation of educational and socio-environmental content.With experience in coordinating submissions to public and private funding calls, as well as in the strategic planning of festival circuits, Alice actively contributes to the development and dissemination of independent audiovisual projects with social impact. At Amorim Filmes, she supports the execution of documentaries, short films, and educational series, collaborating closely with directors, producers, and institutional partners.

Gabriel Pinheiro began his career in 1996 at MegaRJ studios, where he worked for three years with music and sound post-production. As a freelancer, he collaborated with production companies such as VideoFilmes (6 Histórias Brasileiras, Babilônia 2000) and Conspiração (Chico e as Cidades). From 2001 to 2012, he ran the Biscoito Fino studio while simultaneously working in post-production for TV and film. During this period, he was nominated three times for the Latin Grammy in the sound engineering category. He is a two-time Latin Grammy winner (2017 and 2018). He currently works at his own studio, Realejo Digital, located in Horto (Jardim Botânico), which combines the best of analog and digital systems and is staffed by a team specialized in post-production for television and cinema.

Thiago Correia holds a degree in Visual Arts and Image Technology, with a specialization in Digital Compositing, Motion Design, and Video Editing. He has been working in the audiovisual industry since 2005, with experience in advertising commercials, television programs, institutional documentaries, and animated short films. Since 2016, he has been collaborating with Amorim Filmes, contributing to various projects, including: Orozimba e Oboé, Bela Raízes, Vila Sésamo, Thiago & Ísis (seasons 1 and 2, as well as the feature film), and Survival Guide for the 21st Century (seasons 1 and 2).

Chris Ferreira, 23, was born in Brazil and studied at the University of the Algarve in Portugal. She is a member of the team at Amorim working on storyboarding and illustration.

Embarcação Cultural is a content production company for television, cinema, multimedia, and theater. Founded in 2007 by screenwriters, playwrights, and professors Antonio Arruda and Regina Negrini, the company develops projects of great relevance in both Brazilian and international dramaturgy. Some of its key works include: the animated series Miss Brushes Art Academy (Sinlogo and Sesame Studios); the game Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Caldeirão do Huck (Floresta Filmes and TV Globo); a national advertising campaign for Colégio Positivo, featuring presenter Patrícia Poeta (Pé da Letra and Tech and Soul); Sésamo 2017 (TV Cultura and TV Brasil); scriptwriting and final draft of the animated series Planeta Palavra (Conspiração Filmes); QI Game Show (Libertá Filmes and TV Cultura); the second season of Igarapé Mágico (TV Brasil and Dogs Can Fly); Quintal da Cultura and Era Uma Vez no Quintal — the latter winner of the APCA Award (both for TV Cultura); the animated series Elmo’s Challenge — broadcast in 9 countries (Amorim Filmes, Sesame Workshop, and MetLife Foundation); Traquitana (TV Cultura and Bic); Sesame’s global campaign against the Zika virus (Amorim Filmes, Sesame Workshop, and UNESCO); the mini-documentary Living Together in Maré (Amorim Filmes, Sesame Workshop, and the Bernard van Leer Foundation); curatorship of the Vila Sésamo YouTube channel; and authorship and creation of the animated series Orozimba and the Oboe (Amorim Filmes and Chamon Produções).

Julia Tomchinsky holds a master’s degree in Education from the University of São Paulo’s School of Education (2011), with a focus on Culture, Organization, and Education. She earned her bachelor’s and teaching degrees in Geography from the University of São Paulo (2005). She is currently the Director of Education and Social Impact at Sésamo in Brazil and works as a university professor at Universidade Nove de Julho. She has experience coordinating educational and community engagement actions, projects, and programs. Julia has led various interdisciplinary teams in research and study initiatives focused on pedagogical intervention and social mobilization, emphasizing teacher and family training and the practice of citizenship from early childhood. She has facilitated participatory processes for the planning, training, monitoring, and evaluation of public policies in education, the environment, and human rights. In addition, she has organized local, regional, and international meetings, seminars, conferences, and forums. She has developed content for educational games, teaching and learning materials, and audiovisual resources. Julia has also led engagement processes involving civil society and educators for the observation, documentation, and systematization of innovative educational practices. For eight years, she worked as a program and project coordinator at the Paulo Freire Institute in São Paulo (SP). She has published books and articles for teacher training on various topics, including citizenship from childhood, education for sustainability, and playful learning.