The Marvelous City and the Amazon, two tourist destinations well-known by Brazilians and foreigners, are among the locations in the country 
with the most film shoots, including successful foreign productions.
The film “Central do Brasil,” shot in one of the most famous historic buildings in the capital of Rio de Janeiro, has represented the country at the most prestigious cinema event, the Oscars. The city was also the setting for the highest-grossing Brazilian film to date: “Tropa de Elite 2,” which attracted an audience of 11 million viewers.
The Amazon Rainforest served as a backdrop for productions such as “Tainá” and 
“Tainá 2”; “Amazônia,” “A Missão,” “Fitzcarraldo”; “A Floresta das Esmeraldas”; and “Anaconda.”
Other lesser-known tourist destinations have also been part of the seventh art’s scenery. With only five thousand inhabitants, the small town of Cabaceiras, in the hinterland of Paraíba, became known for cinema and proclaimed itself the “Northeastern Roliúde.”
Several productions were filmed there, such as the movie O Auto da Compadecida, a classic that brought to the screens the story of João Grilo and Chicó.
The original architecture, the Cinematographic Memorial, the rock inscriptions 
in the neighboring city of Ingá, and the natural monument Saca de Lã compose the ecotourism route revealed by cinema and consolidated as a destination.
The most recent Brazilian box office success, “Aquarius,” invites the viewer on a tour of Recife and features some of the main attractions of the capital of Pernambuco, such as Boa Viagem beach, while focusing on the theme of heritage preservation, which recurs in other local films.
In the Southern Region of the country, the capital Porto Alegre was the setting for “O Homem que Copiava,” the story of a young man who worked as a photocopier operator. The scenes showcase various tourist spots in the city, such as the Guaíba River and the Porto Cais.
The Serra Gaúcha, a well-established destination of Italian colonization, was the setting for, among other productions, “O Quatrilho,” a film shot in Antônio Prado and Bento Gonçalves that depicts the arrival of immigrants. The region also hosts, annually in Gramado since 1973, the main festival of Brazilian cinema.
Imbassaí (BA), between Salvador and Praia do Forte, on the Linha Verde, is one of the most visited tourist destinations in Bahia. The village in the municipality of Mata de São João was the setting for the film “Os Homens São de Marte E É Prá Lá Que Eu Vou.” The local simplicity harkens back to the indigenous past of the region. The Bahian capital also served as the backdrop for the hit “Ó Paí, Ó,” set in a tenement in Pelourinho, in the Historic Center of Salvador. The area is listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage site.
Source: Portal Brasil