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Global indie animation powerhouse Miyu Distribution has acquired international rights to Fernanda Salgado’s “Ana, en Passant” ahead of its world premiere at the Brasília Brazilian Film Festival and international premiere at the Vancouver
Film Festival (VIFF).
It will make history at VIFF as the first animated film to compete in its Vanguard program. The film will be released theatrically in Brazil on Nov. 5. Watch a teaser below.
“Ana, en Passant” is Salgado’s feature debut and stars legendary Brazilian actress Zezé Motta,
who made her international breakthrough in 1977 as the titular character of Cacá Diegues’s majorly popular “Xica” and went on to build a renowned career both on cinema and television, becoming one of Brazil’s most well-respected performers. Joining Motta are “The Secret Agent” breakout Carlos Francisco, and Jéssica Pierina in the dual role of Ana and Alice.
The story follows Ana, a young Black French woman who, following the death of her grandmother, travels to her matriarch’s birth city of Belo Horizonte. There, in her grandmother’s former apartment, she meets Alice — her double. As they trace an emotional map through the city, its memories and its ancestral connections, Ana and Alice begin to unravel what it means to become who they are.
The film blends rotoscoping, hand-drawn 2D animation, collage and stop motion to create a tactile and poetic world of shifting memories and identities. Moving between Paris and Belo Horizonte, the film explores grief, migration, Black identity and the invisible ties connecting women across generations. Art direction is led by Marcella Tamayo, with animation direction by Camila Kater and an original soundtrack by São Paulo trio Metá Metá.
Speaking with Variety following news of the acquisition, Salgado said the film is “about the journey of two young Black women searching for themselves and their places in the world.” “It is also a film about the memories that cross generations of Black women and the intergenerational connections between them, which are very present. Notably, the film’s aesthetic, poetic and experimental qualities are essential to the narrative and the way the story is told.”
“This is a film made by many hands, both when it comes to the production partners and the diverse crew, featuring a heavy female presence and influence,” she added. “For us it’s an immense joy to join the Miyu Distribution catalogue and have ‘Ana, en Passant’ alongside exquisite films, as well as counting on Luce and her team’s sensibility when it comes to conducting the film’s international strategy.”
“‘Ana, en Passant’ immediately stood out to us for the way its visual language and its story are so deeply intertwined,” said Luce Grosjean, co-founder and President of Miyu Distribution. “Fernanda Salgado has created an intimate and ambitious film about memory, identity and transformation, carried by a striking mix of animation techniques. We are very proud to accompany the film and bring it to audiences around the world.”
“Ana, en Passant” is a co-production between Belo Horizonte’s Apiario Creative Studio, Portugal’s Sardinha em Lata and France’s Midralgar.
As a project, “Ana en Passant” was previously presented at the Mifa Feature Film Pitches during the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2019. Its work-in-progress was also one of five titles at the 2025 prestigious and highly selective Annecy Animation Showcase at the Cannes Festival’s Marché du Film. “Through a lyrical and visually textured style, Brazilian director Fernanda Alves Salgado crafts a journey that’s both intimate and philosophical,” Variety wrote at that time.
