About Olive Tree Films
A video production company grown in Brazil and told to the world: nearly two decades, more than 3,000 productions and clients in more than 30 countries.
Better with each frame
An olive tree gives better fruit with every harvest. We want every film to be better than the last.
Offices in São Paulo and Miami. Productions in more than 30 countries.
Olive Tree Films in numbers
More than 3,000 productions for more than 400 clients, from brand films and commercials to documentaries, training series and animation, with voice-over in more than 50 languages.
Where it started: a dream in Los Angeles
Olive Tree began as a conversation between two students. Silas Oliveira and Caroline Mendonça met in college in Los Angeles, California, and started to imagine the production company they would one day build together. Silas registered the first domains for the idea, and Caroline registered Olive Tree Studio as a business in California, the company’s first legal form. From there, the plans slowly took shape.
They then decided to return to Brazil and opened Olive Tree Studio in São Paulo. Some of the first credits were already international. For Girls in Pop Songs, a German documentary for rbb and ARTE about the women who inspired famous pop songs, our crew filmed Helô Pinheiro, the Girl from Ipanema, in Brazil. The documentary’s credits list the Brazil crew as Olive Tree Studio, with Caroline Mendonça, and the film was nominated for the Grimme Award, one of Germany’s most prestigious television awards, in the Information & Culture category, according to the nomination list. Soon after came our first multinational client, Swarovski, with a training film for the brand’s people across Brazil, from store teams to franchisees.
Years later, the studio became Olive Tree Films, to match what the company had become: a production company for brands, built around film. The olive tree stayed because of what it means. It matures slowly and gives better fruit with each harvest. That is how we see our work: every project leaves something learned, and every film carries the experience of the ones that came before it.
Grown in Brazil, told to the world
Our base is Brazil, and our work has never stayed there. Our crew has flown in to film in 17 countries: Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina in Latin America; Portugal, Spain, France and England in Europe; South Africa, Malawi, Senegal and Kenya in Africa; and Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and Timor-Leste in Asia.
Companies have also hired us from abroad to produce in Brazil, from Germany, France, England, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, China, Australia, Argentina, the United States and Angola. Counting the films we delivered for companies in other markets, our work has reached more than 30 countries. Today we run it from offices in São Paulo and Miami, where our US company, Olive Tree Films, LLC, is based. That experience is what our multi-market production model is built on: one team, one contract and one standard for films that have to work in more than one country.
Our story
From Los Angeles to the world
Five moments that shaped Olive Tree Films, in the order they happened.
Grown in Brazil.
Told to the world.
Nearly two decades
of production
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Los Angeles
They meet in college, and Caroline registers Olive Tree Studio in California.
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São Paulo
They return to Brazil and open Olive Tree Studio.
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A German documentary
Our crew films the Girl from Ipanema for a Grimme-nominated documentary.
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First multinational
A training film for Swarovski teams across Brazil.
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Olive Tree Films
A new name, a US company in Miami and clients in 30+ countries.
How we work: the film starts before the camera
Our work begins long before anyone presses record. It starts with listening: to the brief, to the question a brand has not yet put into words, to the audience the film has to reach. Script, framing, light, casting and movement are decided as parts of one image, so that when the camera rolls, the film already has a clear identity. We see video as a way to build perception, and every choice in a film has to earn its place on screen.
That is why we keep the whole process under one roof. Our São Paulo team covers pre-production, scriptwriting, direction, animation, editing, color, sound and AI. Five people work with us full time, together with a network of more than 200 freelance professionals we have known for over a decade, chosen for each project according to its budget, client and style. The crew on set changes with the film. The standard does not.
What we value
Three values, one standard
Our brand rests on three values. They are how we decide, on set and in the edit, what belongs in a film and what does not.
Competence
Mastery of the whole film
Competence means building a film from beginning to end: concept, script, direction, production, editing, color, sound and finishing. Every stage exists to strengthen the story, so nothing feels loose or gratuitous.
Ambition
The next film is the best one
Ambition is not about growing in size. It is about growing in eye, repertoire and creative range, so that each project carries everything that came before it and finds a new way to make things happen.
Confidence
Video is construction
Confidence is a production with clear direction, a well-run process and a consistent result. Film is not improvisation: from the first conversation to the last cut, every choice has to support the brand’s message.
A selection of our work for brands in Brazil and around the world, from corporate films and commercials to documentaries, training and animation.
Full films are available on request.
Recognition
Two medals
on our first entry.
Gold
Best Promotional Video Production at the Prêmio ABC, for our film for Tuvis.
Silver
Best Promotional Video Production at the Prêmio ABC, for our film for Melhor Envio.
Source: ABC da Comunicação.
For most of our history, we put our time into clients’ films rather than award entries. The first time we entered a competition, the Prêmio ABC, which recognizes marketing and communication suppliers in the Greater ABC region of São Paulo, two of our films won medals in the same category: Gold for Tuvis and Silver for Melhor Envio. Long before that, Girls in Pop Songs, a German documentary for rbb and ARTE for which we were the Brazil crew, was nominated for the Grimme Award in the Information & Culture category. It will not be the last time our work is in the running.
Global brands that trust us
“We grew slowly, because roots take time. Every film we make carries everything we learned on the ones before it.”
Silas Oliveira and Caroline Mendonça
Founders of Olive Tree Films
Questions about Olive Tree Films
Short answers about who we are and how we work.
Where is Olive Tree Films based?
Our main team works from São Paulo, Brazil, and we have an office in Miami through our US company, Olive Tree Films, LLC. Our crews have flown in to film in 17 countries, and our work has reached clients in more than 30.
Who founded Olive Tree Films?
Silas Oliveira, our CEO, and Caroline Mendonça, our co-founder and creative director. They met in college in Los Angeles, where Caroline first registered Olive Tree Studio as a business in California, and later opened the company in São Paulo.
What does the name Olive Tree mean?
An olive tree matures slowly and gives better fruit with each harvest. We chose the name because we see our work the same way: every project prepares the next one.
How large is the Olive Tree Films team?
Five people work with us full time in São Paulo, together with a network of more than 200 freelance professionals we have known for over a decade, chosen for each project by budget, client and style.
What awards has Olive Tree Films won?
Gold and Silver for Best Promotional Video Production at the Prêmio ABC, for our films for Tuvis and Melhor Envio, the first time we entered a competition. Earlier, Girls in Pop Songs, a German documentary for rbb and ARTE for which we were the Brazil crew, was nominated for the Grimme Award.
Was the company always called Olive Tree Films?
No. It opened in São Paulo as Olive Tree Studio and later became Olive Tree Films.
