Brazil’s BossaNovaFilms Preps ‘Chef Pompom,’ ‘Caco e Dado’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Partnering with HBO Latin America, Globosat and Discovery, three of the biggest players in Latin American TV, Sao Paulo’s BossaNovaFilms is advancing on a highly diversified TV slate that now includes “Chef Pompom,” a multi-platform project which aims to give tykes their first taste of healthy eating.

Also taking in femme drama “3 Teresas,” which BossaNovaFilms’ Denise Gomes presented Thursday at the Rio Content Market, plus fiction mini-series “Motel,” survivor show “Extreme Mission with Karina Oliani” and toon series “Caco e Dado,” BossaNovaFilms’ TV production plans illustrate some keys to TV production out of Brazil: Diversification, powerful partners and – hopefully – international format potential.

“To develop Brazil’s TV industry, we need to sell internationally to justify the investment we make in Brazil,” Gomes said.

Now in development, ”Chef Pompom” turns on a young, cack-handed but ultra-smart nutritionist, a 24-25 year-old girl who’s had health problems in the past and who invites a gaggle of children to her magic lab-kitchen. There, they learn how to enjoy healthy recipes, and have fun with food stories and the crazy-scientist manners of their cooker, who also sings songs.

A mix of live action and animation, the 11-minute series, which can be packaged for broadcast in half hour slots, will be accompanied by a book and CD series, Gomes told Variety. BossaNovaFilms aims is to set up partnerships with a TV company, a book and record publisher, and bring in brand sponsors from the project’s inception.

“What’s interesting about multimedia projects is that we don’t have to follow any strict chronology: We could start with a book, or Chef Pompom’s blog, for example, then make the series,” Gomes said.

First bowing May 2013, on GNT, cable operator Globosat’s femme-targeting channel, and now in development for a third season, the 13-seg “3 Teresas” turns on a grand-mother, mother and daughter who share the same house. For different reasons, they all want to reconstruct their lives, but fear losing one another in the process. Luiz Villaca directs. GNT purchased the first season, then co-produced the second, Gomes said.

Co-produced with HBO Latin America, which has the rights to the region, mini-series “Motel” is created and directed by Fabrizia Pinto, who helmed two episodes of the O2 Filmes-produced “Som e Furia” and “Antonia.” Set in six motel rooms, each seg is based on a different film genre: Thriller, comedy, horror, romance, drama and a crime drama.

“One of the most interesting things right now for Brazil is to create formats we can export,” Gomes said. Deals can depend on a series clicking in Brazil or over Latin America. International co-production raises the chances of format sales significantly, she added.

“3 Teresas” is now repped for a North American sale, Gomes said. With two seasons under BossaNovaFilms’ belt, Gomes will present the series to international market for potential format sales.

Profits may be higher than with fiction drama, with animation and reality formats proving easier to sell abroad, Gomes argued: One reason for its ongoing slate diversification.

Shot in Colombia, Peru and Brazil, “Extreme Mission” stars Oliana, a Brazilian extremes sports specialist with a Laura Croft physique, who faces a new challenge: Living with communities in some of the most inhospitable places in the world. Discovery Latin America co-produces.

Mixing animation and archive wild life footage, quiz format “Caco e Dedo” challenges young viewers to guess what animal is being introduced in each episode.

Related stories

Berlin: Brazilian Films Propel Into Wider International Territory

Berlin: Cinema do Brasil Subsidy Triples Support as Interest Rises

Berlin: Brazilian Filmmakers Tap Into State Aid Fund

Get more from Variety and Variety411: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter