Brazil is one of the world's largest film markets. Most European and American films are quickly released in Brazil and play to large audiences on big screvens with their original soundtracks.

Cinemas are cheap ($4) and among the best are the Largo do Machado I & II and the São Luiz I & II, both in Largo do Machado; the Ricamar and the Roxy, along Aenida N.S. de Copacabana; and Condor Copacabana in Rua Figueiredo Magalhães. Jornal do Brasil lists what's on and where.

There's an excellent chain of art-house cinemas, called Estação, showing the latest films on the international circuit. Check out the Estação Paissandu, near the corner of Rua Senador ergueiro and Rua Paissandu, Centro; the Estação Cinema 1 in Leme; the Estação Botafogo, Rua oluntarios da Patria 88; and the Estação in the Museu da República, Palácio do Catete.

Since 1984 Rio de Janeiro has hosted Rio-Cine, an international festial of film that includes some Tand ideo productions as well, and ranks alongside those of Cannes, Montreal and Moscow.

It takes place over ten days in November and is based in the Conention Centre of the Hotel Nacional : contact the organizers at Rua Paissandu 362 (tel 021/285-7649), in Flamengo. Cariocas loe the cinema and their festial lacks the snobbery that has marred Cannes. over three hundred films are shown during the festial, with parallel screvenings in cinemas all over Rio

Rio de Janeiro guide
Brazil guide