APRO and FilmBrazil Announce WHEXT 2024

The Brazilian Audiovisual Producers Association (APRO) has announced the 7th edition of Whext, an innovative festival dedicated to shaping the future of advertising production in Brazil. At a time marked by a decline in creativity and mounting challenges within the sector, Whext aims to spark reflection and encourage innovation in an industry.

“Audiovisual producers, advertisers, and agency professionals have shown remarkable engagement, filling our audience, which motivates us to continue investing, innovating, and expanding,” said Marianna Souza, president of APRO and curator of WHEXT.

The 2024 edition aims to spark discussions about Brazil's advertising production market. According to Marianna, "WHEXT was created to explore the future of the industry, the next directions of audiovisual advertising. But above all, it’s about giving prominence to the professionals behind the camera”.

In partnership with Spcine – a public company that promotes cinema and audiovisual, which is part of the São Paulo City Hall, FullCine, Getty Images, FullSeg, and supported by At FIVE London Dry Gin, Creme, Café Royal, Extreme Reach, Euphoria Creative, GoAd Media, Guaraná Turismo, and Satelite Audio, the festival also benefits from an international partnership with D&AD.

With a program featuring panels, discussions, production workshops, and dedicated networking space, the event is known for fostering exchanges between professionals from both the national and international markets. To conclude the event, awards are presented to professionals across 14 technical categories that are rarely celebrated by other festivals.

2024 was an unusual year for Brazil in audiovisual. It was the first year without a metal in the 'Film' category at Cannes Lions - productions realized in Brazil for the Brazilian market. On the other hand, when we look at the 'Craft' category, we see the strength of the production market, being recognized and awarded at various international festivals, including Cannes (productions directed for Brazilians directors and teams) and Ciclope. “This dichotomy served as a catalyst for this year’s edition. That’s why we need to bring the industry together to reclaim the essence of Craft in Brazil and discuss what lies ahead," explained Marianna.

To promote the festival, the campaign created by Euphoria Creative carries a bold and provocative slogan: “If you're satisfied, you're bugging out completely”. The bug, a well-known irritant, serves as the campaign’s central figure. “The bug is a metaphor for everything we’re unfortunately experiencing in advertising. The campaign means to provoke a reflection about all we need to bring back to the industry.” explained Marcelo Rizério, co-founder and CCO of Euphoria Creative.

The film was produced by Crème Company, directed by the duo Manimou and features audio production by Satelite Audio.