"Brainstorm" had its premiere in October 2000, when it was selected for and screened at the 2nd Rio Film Festival. Later in the month, it was exhibited at the 24th São Paulo International Film Festival, where it was the only Brazilian film—out of eleven—to be chosen by the public as one of the twelve best films of the festival. It was also the most awarded film at the 33rd Brasília Film Festival, where it won seven awards out of thirteen, and at the 5th Recife Film Festival, where it won nine out of eleven awards. In early 2001, the film was screened in a public square during the Tiradentes Film Festival in Minas Gerais; 11% of the two thousand people in the audience gave the film a rating of "Good," and 89% of them gave it an "Excellent."