Elias Ribeiro

Elias Ribeiro is a Brazilian born film producer who has lived and worked in over 10 countries. He is fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish and German. After relocating to South Africa in 2010, he pursued his MA in Film Producing and founded Urucu Media in 2011. His work spans a wide range of documentary and fiction projects that have premiered in competition at Berlinale, Sundance, Beijing, Toronto, Locarno and Durban, to name a few. It also screened internationally on SABC, Arte, ZDF, Mnet, HBO, Netflix and iTunes. Specializing in international co-productions, his projects have attracted funding from Hubert Bals, World Cinema Fund, CNC, broadcasters as well as National and Regional Funders worldwide. In 2016 he launched REALNESS, an African Screenwriters Residency. It is an annual initiative where he gets to exercise his passion for discovering new talent. Five African screenwriters/directors are invited to attend a six-week residency to develop a new draft of their original screenplays. Elias is an EAVE Producer’s Workshop 2014, EAVE +, Berlinale Talents, TFL, La Fabrique des Cinema du Monde, L’Atelier Cinefondation and Produire Au Sud alumnus. Filmography - Completed The Wound | 88” | 2016 (South Africa, Germany, France, Netherlands) Sundance Film Festival Official Selection 2017 Berlinale Panorama Opening Film 2017 ND/NF 2017 Taipei Film Festival 2017 Sydney Film Festival 2017 Melbourne Film Festival 2017 MOOOV Film Festival 2017 Durban Film Festival 2017 Melbourne Film Festval 2017 BFI London 2017 Train of Salt and Sugar | 89” | 2016 (Brazil, France, Mozambique, Portugal, S.Africa) Audience Award Locarno Film Festival 2016 Best Film Joburg Film Festival 2016 Locarno Open Doors 2014 Necktie Youth | 88” | 2014 (South Africa, Netherlands) Best South African Feature at Durban International Film Festival 2015 Best Film at Amsterdam World Cinema Festival 2015 Best Film at Montreal IFF 2015 Jury Award Carthage Film Festival 2015 Special Mention from the Jury in Guanajuato IFF 2015 Special Mention from the Jury at Locarno Open Doors 2014 Jeppe On A Friday | 87” | 2014 (South Africa, Canada) Best Documentary Indie Karoo Fest 2013 Geneva International Film Festival Official Selection 2013 Beijing International Film Festival Official Selection 2013 Encounters Documentary Film Festival Official Selection 2013 NY African Film Festival Official Selection 2013 Filmography - Upcoming The Tree | 90” | 2018 | Financing (South Africa, Germany, France, Netherlands) L’Atelier 2015 National Film and Video Foundation Development Award 2014 The Sovereign | 90” | 2020 | Development CNC/NFVF Co-Production Market 2017 EAVE Producer’s Workshop 2017 Realness Screenwriter’s Residency 2016 Estate | 90” | 2020 | Development Hubert Bals Bright Future 2017 Miles From Nowhere | 90” | 2021 | Development National Film & Video Foundation Development Award 2016