Firebrand director Karim Aïnouz's new movie in production

Karim Aïnouz’s eighth feature, an erotic thriller called Motel Destino, entered production on July 31 in Brazil.

Aïnouz recent film Firebrand, starring Alicia Vikander and Jude Law as Catherine Parr and Henry VIII respectively, debuted at Cannes earlier this year.

Aïnouz described Motel Destino as "a love story: the love between a peripheral young man who lives fighting against a system that wants him dead and a woman who resists the attacks of the patriarchy against her own life. Motel Destino is a Brazilian saga of the encounter between a person on the run, utterly helpless, and another who is being crushed in an abusive marriage."

The "strong and vibrant colours of Brazil’s Ceará", the director’s home state, is the backdrop of the film, which stars Iago Xavier and Nataly Rocha in the leading roles, alongside Emmy-nominated Fábio Assunção (Songs of Betrayal). (via Cineuropa.)

After Motel Destino, the director will begin work on Rosebushpruning, his second English-language project starring Kristen Stewart, Josh O’Connor and Elle Fanning, with production set to begin spring 2024.

Motel Destino is being produced by Cinema Inflamável (Brazil) and Gullane (Brazil), in co-production with Globo Filmes (Brazil), Telecine (Brazil), Canal Brasil (Brazil), Maneki Films (France) and The Match Factory (Germany), and in association with Brouhaha Entertainment and Written Rock (UK). Pandora Filmes is in charge of its Brazilian distribution.

The project has also received support from the Department of Culture of the State of Ceará.