The saying goes that "curiosity killed the cat." But for Eduardo Stachow, 20, from Bahia, all this interest did the opposite: it led him to become a filmmaker, with projects at various events around the world, such as the Curitiba festival, in Brazil, and the Toronto and Montreal festivals, in Canada, in 2026.
Eduardo has had cinema in his life since childhood, when he needed to escape the reality of his parents' separation. Along with the passion for the seventh art came doubts: how was it all done? How was a film made?
"I was always very curious and cinema was very important to me because I was a bit out of touch with reality and it was at that moment that I really fell in love with cinema. But I really started producing and getting into this field, in the sense of really starting to study for production, at the age of 14", says Eduardo in an interview with g1.
It was during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the Bahian found himself stuck at home, and saw an opportunity to focus on his passion. Eduardo says that he began to study on his own the steps of the process of making an animation from scratch and to carry out various tests.
"I started studying the programs, I started studying scripts, I started studying production, I started studying everything I could study. I did a lot of tests, a lot of tests. So, for example, every week I made about five animations, testing what I could do", he says.
Eduardo Stachow is a 20-year-old filmmaker from Bahia — Photo: Disclosure
Today, Eduardo studies Cinema at FAAP (Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado), in São Paulo, and has his own production company, Stachow Produções, where he works as producer, director, animator, art director, photography director, sound director and editor, in addition to working on creating environments, modeling and 3D rigging in his animations.
This year, his short film "The Gramophone" was present at the "Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (TINFF)", competing for awards in the categories of Best Director, Best Producer, Best Short Film and Best International Animated Film. In addition to having its international premiere at "Animaze – Montreal International Animation Film Festival 2026, at the Cinéma du Musée".
But before going to Canada, the short had its premiere on Brazilian screens at "DJANHO! – Mostra Internacional e Interbairros de Cinema Fantástico de Curitiba", which marked the first public screening of a project by Eduardo in the country.
"It's very rewarding. You make a film, produce it, show it and people like it, applaud it. It's really cool, it's rewarding."
💽 The Gramophone
The Gramophone, short film directed by Eduardo Stachow — Photo: Reproduction/ IMBD
"The Gramophone" follows a robot who, after following a melody to an abandoned house, where he finds a gramophone and listens to the song, faces unknown emotions. The discovery is turned into action when another robot arrives at the house and everything ends up in a big chase.
Almost like a tribute to the animation "Tom and Jerry" and the classic chases between the two, the short was made on a weekend when Eduardo stayed at home while all his friends traveled: "It's the ideal time to do the animation", he recalls what he thought.
When comparing technical and narrative issues, Eduardo notes the advancement of his trajectory in this latest short in relation to his old projects and is excited to try new things in the future.
"I really like creating stories, so it turns out that cinema is also a way of conveying what I like to create."
🎬 Festival Circuit since 2023
Shorts produced and directed by Eduardo Stachow — Photo: Reproduction/ IMBD
Although the independent production company, Stachow Produções, was only officially created in 2025, the director was already creating his projects and was recognized before that.
"Chaos is King", a horror short from 2023, won the awards for Best Director and Best Experimental Film at the 2 11 17 International Film Festival, as well as Best Experimental Film and Best Animated Film at the Rome Prisma Awards, in Italy.
The following year he also won categories at the European Cinematography Awards, Los Angeles Cinematography Awards and Canadian Cinematography Awards.
Another award-winning short was "We Are Carnaval", from 2025, winning the award for Best Animated Short Film at the Rome Prisma Awards.
In 2025, Eduardo also participated in the "Festival do Minuto", the largest and most traditional short-term video festival in Brazil.
🎞️ What's coming up
Today, Stachow Produções is a one-man production company: Eduardo is in charge of all aspects, such as creation, script and production of the work. But, looking to the future, the Bahian is thinking about a possible expansion to produce on a larger scale and maintain quality, in addition to wanting to take his projects to a larger audience.
"But I have an ambition to really expand my films, my productions to the commercial circuit as well, showing them in the cinema."
Eduardo says that he continues to develop new stories and also try new formats. He is currently working on a feature film for the first time. The animation named "Nara" will have a mythological aspect in the plot, but the narrative is still kept secret.
"I'm trying to make a long format. It's a much more difficult thing, but I've already made three, four short films in my life, so I think it's time to try to make a long film, even if it doesn't turn out how I want it, you know? I think it's an important challenge for me", he assesses.
Other ongoing productions are a series of Brazilian shorts focused on Brazil's regionality and also a romance short set in Salvador.
*Intern under the supervision of editor Ailma Teixeira
