Ilda Santiago

Ilda Santiago is a Brazilian film producer, distributor, and programmer, known for being one of the founders and partners of Grupo Estação, as well as the general delegate and head of programming of the Festival do Rio, one of the most important film events in Latin America.^[1]

Ilda Santiago began her career in the 1980s, when she took part in the creation of Grupo Estação, alongside other cinephiles who sought to professionalize the experience of Rio de Janeiro's cine-clubs and expand access to independent cinema. The group began with a single screening room in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, and the first film shown was Love Me Forever or Never by Arnaldo Jabor. Over the years, Circuito Estação expanded and eventually came to include several theaters specializing in art-house cinema and independent productions.^[2]

Ilda Santiago is one of the key figures behind the creation and consolidation of Festival do Rio, an event that brings together national and international sections and has become a reference point in the country's audiovisual calendar. The festival originated in FestRio, created in 1987, and developed out of the Mostra Palco Nacional, sponsored by the former Banco Nacional, which held its first edition in 1988 with 30 premieres. In 1997, the event was renamed Mostra Rio, and two years later it adopted its current name, Festival do Rio, with the aim of promoting Brazilian and Latin American cinema.^[3]

Première Brasil, the festival's national competitive section, is one of the main initiatives under the leadership of Ilda Santiago. In its first edition, in 1999, only seven films were screened. Today, the number exceeds sixty productions, including short and feature films. According to Ilda, the section's goal is "to create impact and break with pre-established models, while maintaining a coherent and diverse line that also engages with the film market.^[4]

• Ilda Santiago at IMDb