Prominent Brazilian label Boutique Filmes is doubling down on its focus on young adult audiences in Brazil's growing market by casting two of the country's most popular young stars and building bridges to Portugal Vera Egito, who directed one of Brazil’s buzziest recent series with Prime Video’s “Tremembé,” is set to helm “The Mystery of the 5 Stars” for Boutique Filmes in co-production with Globo Filmes, Ukbar Filmes, and Sony Pictures International Productions Brazil. The project has also cast two of Brazil’s most popular screen stars, Marina Ruy Barbosa (“Tremembé”) and João Guilherme (“Beast Race”), as well as rising Portuguese actor José Condessa who recently starred in Pedro Almodóvar’s “Strange Way of Life” alongside A-listers Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke. Sony Pictures will handle distribution.
It follows Guilherme’s Leo, a proud bellboy on a wild journey to solve a murder at the luxury hotel where he works. Bruno Passeri (“Criminal Code”) adapts Marcos Rey’s eponymous book, mixing mystery, thriller and romance. Flávia Costa, film and kids content manager at Globo Filmes, says the film revisits “a classic of Brazilian young adult literature from the 1980s through a contemporary lens, updated for today’s young adult audiences.” “By expanding the world of the original story and raising the stakes for its protagonist, we have created a gripping thriller about someone who must fight to prove his innocence.
The film is also part of Globo Filmes’ slate of projects aimed at younger audiences, reaffirming our commitment to bringing important works of Brazilian literature to the screen and telling stories that resonate with new generations.” Speaking with Variety following the announcement, Boutique Filmes partner Tiago Mello says the project is the film Brazil is missing at the moment when it comes to catering for young adult audiences. They are consuming a lot of international content because there is no content for them now [in Brazil], so we are focused on creating content for YA.” Mello praises the partners lined up for the project, noting how Globo has been part of “some of the most important films in our history, so it’s amazing to have them [on board].” “For them, it’s also very important to connect with this [YA] audience, so it’s a perfect partnership for us.” The project also marks Boutique Filmes’ first co-production with Portugal in a collaboration with Ukbar Filmes, a clever move given that young Portuguese audiences have been rising consumers of Brazilian content. Boutique Filmes has invested in fostering young adult audiences over the last few years, with projects such as Netflix’s popular dystopian series “3%.” “We cannot lose this audience,” emphasizes Mello.
It’s really important to create this kind of film.” The executive adds that bringing in “Tremembé” director Vera Egito to take over the film is a decision directly tied to her ability to connect with that demographic. We started work on the series a few weeks ago; she’s working hard.” “The Mystery of the 5 Stars” unites two of Brazil’s most popular young stars in Guilherme and Ruy Barbosa. Mello calls the former a “phenomenon.” “He began working as a kid on soap operas, but now he’s one of the most popular names for teenagers here.
Marina Ruy Barbosa is also huge. She’s one of our biggest stars. She’s a mysterious woman in the film; she doesn’t know what game she’s playing, so it’s a very interesting character: is she with him or against him?
We have some romance involved in this relationship. She’s amazing.” Mello and his team are planning to shoot later this year. The plan is to then take the film to festivals in 2027, with a big national premiere slated for the end of next year.
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