The Gramado Film Festival (Portuguese: Festival de Gramado) is an international film festival held annually in the Brazilian city of Gramado, Rio Grande do Sul, since 1973. In 1992, the festival began to award Latin American films produced outside of Brazil. It is the biggest film festival in the country.
History
Formed by the National Cinema Institute (Instituto Nacional de Cinema - INC) in January 1973, the Gramado Film Festival was originally launched at the Hydrangeas Festivity (Festa das Hortênsias), where film exhibitions were promoted between 1969 and 1971. The efforts of the artistic community, the press, tourists, and locals made the initiative a successful event. By the 1980s, it was already the most important film festival of Brazil.
Awards
The festivals are held at the Festivals Palace (Palácio dos Festivais).
Currently,[when?] the festival grants awards in 24 categories (13 for Brazilian films, eight for international films, and three special awards). Its awards, called "Kikitos", are 13 inch statuettes created by the artisan Elisabeth Rosenfeld.
