Toronto-Winning ‘Charcoal’ Director Carolina Markowicz to Shoot ‘The Funeral’ Starring Maeve Jinkings (EXCLUSIVE)

Lauded Brazilian director Carolina Markowicz, who won the TIFF Award for Best Directing in 2023 with “Charcoal,” will start shooting “The Funeral” in Brazil from next week. Production starts in São Paulo, moving to the mythical Fordlândia — the city envisioned by American mogul Henry Ford on the banks of the Tapajós River in the Amazon — for the remainder of the shoot. Biônica Filmes produces in co-production with Portugal’s O Som e a Fúria. Sony Pictures will distribute the film in Brazil. 

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“The Funeral” will trail an upper-class Brazilian family whose dynamics are thrown into a spin by the surprise arrival of an illegitimate daughter during the patriarch’s funeral. The film boasts a starry cast led by “Neighboring Sounds” actor Maeve Jinkings, with Yara de Novaes (“Malu”), Camila Márdila (“The Second Mother”) and Julio Andrade (“The Invisible Life”). Cannes best actress winner Sandra Corveloni (“Linha de Passe”) will also make a special appearance.

Markowicz directs from her original script, which blends drama and dark satire to broach issues of privilege, complex family relationships, inheritance, and how the elite strive to maintain polished appearances in a fast-paced, ever-changing world. 

The director’s previous work was featured at major international festivals, as well as breaking new ground for her national cinema. “The Orphan” was the first-ever Brazilian film to win the Queer Palm at Cannes, and Markowicz was the first-ever Brazilian filmmaker to receive the Tribute Award for Emerging Talent at the Toronto International Film Festival, where she was honored alongside Pedro Almodóvar and Spike Lee. Festival hits like “Charcoal” and “Toll” have positioned the filmmaker amongst the leading voices of Brazil’s internationally-acclaimed new generation. 

Speaking about the project, Markowicz said:  “What happens when a stranger appears not only claiming, but actually being entitled to, a share of the inheritance? And what if the inheritance is not only financial, but emotional as well? This family embodies that contradiction — personal to them, yet metaphorical for our times. Grief is the expected feeling in the face of the patriarch’s death. But anger and a sense of loss arrive like a storm. We are complex beings, tragically funny.”

“The Funeral” was previously selected for the prestigious Script Lab by the Torino Film Lab in 2024, where it received the White Mirror Award dedicated to screenplays addressing environmental issues, sustainability, and contemporary social transformations. The project was also selected for the 2024 Pop Up Residence, mentored by acclaimed Romanian producer Ada Solomon, and participated in the 2025 Berlinale Co-Production Market.