Brazil’s Boutique Filmes, whose 2016 series “3%” was Netflix’s first big non-English-language international breakout ever, is teaming to produce “O Mistério do Cinco Estrelas” with Portugal’s Ukbar Filmes (“Silent Cargo”) and director Diego Freitas.
Adapting celebrated Brazilian writer Marco Rey’s “O Mistério do Cinco Estrelas” is a murder-mystery set in a luxury hotel.
Announced on the first day of Brazil’s Rio2C where Boutique Filmes’ founder-producer Tiago Melles will serve as a mentor on May 28, “O Mistério do Cinco Estrelas” marks the second of two movies from Boutique announced in the space of two days. On Tuesday, Boutique unveiled “O Gênio do Crime,” a co-production with Globo Filmes which follows the adventures of Gordo’s Gang, a group of children who decide to investigate a criminal mastermind forging World Cup sticker albums. Paris Filmes is set to release in Brazil.
The first to go into production and Boutique Filmes’ first ever producer, “O Gênio do Crime” will roll from July, filming in São Paulo. “O Mistério do Cinco Estrelas” is scheduled for a first half 2026 shoot.
In “Mistério,” Leo, a young bellboy at the luxurious Emperor Park Hotel, stumbles upon a dead body in Room 222. When no one believes his story, he decides to investigate the crime on his own. Accused of being the murderer, he has to go on the run to prove his innocence.
The story points up social equality, said Mello. “Leo is from a humble background, serving the ultra-rich. Brazilian society, the police authorities treat the rich and poor differently in Brazil,” he said.
Both “Mistério” and “Gênio” adapt major Brazilian literary IPs. Published in 1981, “Mistério” reps a big screen makeover of one of the most iconic novels from Rey, in a year which marks the centenary of his birth, the book having just been re-released by Global Editora, with illustration by Oscar nominated Ali Abreu (“The Boy and the World”).
Another classic, “O Gênio do Crime”, by João Carlos Marinho has sold over one million copies and gone through 60 editions. “O Gênio do Crime” is “a page-turner of a book, a novel that has proved remarkable for generations and generations of Brazilians. It is a dream come true to be in charge of this production with partners such as Globo Filmes and Paris Filmes,” said Tello, noting Boutique aims to make a film “that combines adventure, humor and a coming of age story.”
They both enrol top creative talent. Freitas directed two of Netflix’s biggest recent movie smash-hits, “Beyond the Universe” and “Burning Betrayal.” “O Gênio do Crime” will be helmed by Lipe Binder, an artistic director on “Aruanas” and director of Globoplay Original “Living On A Razor’s Edge,” selected for last year’s Berlinale Market Selects and a main director on Globoplay/AfroReggae Audiovisual smash hit “Dissident Archangel.” Pedro Perazzo (“Freitas Brothers”) wrote “Mistério,” Ana Reber (“Beyond the Universe”) is penning “Gênio.”
“Mistério” targets a YA audience, said Mello describing it as a kind of Brazilian “Goonies,” while “Gênio” is made for kids & family at a time when such films are emerging as one of the strongest international bets for non-English language movies.
Both titles have also received ProAC International Co-Production funding. An incentive initiative backed by São Paulo State to the tune of R$400 million ($70.8 million) a year and part of its Audiovisual Industry Development Plan which aims, among other objectives, to help create bigger scale international co-productions. “O Gênio do Crime,” for example, will use the same production designer, Thales Junqueira, as Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Cannes double winner “The Secret Agent.”
“We wouldn’t have been able to finance these titles without São Paulo State aid,” Mello said.
Boutique Filmes is entering film production after Brazilian Movies have won prizes at the Berlin (“The Blue Trail”) and Cannes (“The Secret Agent”) festivals and the Academy Awards (“I’m Still Here”). In 2024, a presidential decree established exhibition quotas for Brazilian movies, encouraging exhibitors to keep local hits in cinema theaters. .
“I’ve been working on series for 20 years now. Entering theatrical film production can be interesting on a personal and company level, catching Brazilian cinema and theatrical distribution in Brazil at an incredible moment, making it very interesting to have long-run films and allowing a company to retain IP,” Mello told Variety, adding that the films are “important in forming an audience in Brazil for national content.”
Boutique will begin to talk with sales agents once the films go into production, he added. “O Gênio do Crime” will be released next year before the 2026 soccer FIFA World Cup.
