Walter Salles

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Walter Salles
Born Walter Moreira Salles Jr.
April 21, 1956 (1956-04-21) (age 52)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Other name(s) Waltinho
Occupation film director, producer and editor
Spouse(s) Maria Klabin

Walter Moreira Salles Jr. (born April 12, 1956, Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian filmmaker and film producer of international prominence. He is the son of Walter Moreira Salles, a Brazilian banker and ambassador, and the brother of João Moreira Salles, also a filmmaker.

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[edit] Career

Salles attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts.[1]

Salles's first notable film was Terra Estrangeira (Foreign Land), released in Brazil in 1995. Locally, it was widely acclaimed by film critics and a minor box-office hit, and it was selected by over 40 film festivals worldwide. In 1998 he released Central do Brasil (Central Station) to widespread international acclaim and two Academy Awards nominations, for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Foreign Language Film. In 2001, Abril Despedaçado (Behind the Sun), starring Rodrigo Santoro, was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Golden Globes. Both films were produced by veteran Arthur Cohn and had worldwide distribution.

In 2003, Salles was voted one of the 40 Best Directors in the World by The Guardian.

His biggest international success has been Diarios de Motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries), a 2004 film about the life of young Ernesto Guevara, who later became known as Che Guevara. It was Salles's first foray as director of a film in a language other than his native Portuguese (Spanish, in this case) and quickly became a box-office hit in Latin America and Europe.

In 2005, Salles released his first English-language feature film, which is also his first Hollywood film, Dark Water, an adaptation of the 2002 Japanese film of the same name. He also helped to produce the Argentine picture Hermanas which was a major success.

Salles has reportedly signed on to direct José Rivera's screenplay adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, with Francis Ford Coppola producing. See also: On the Road (2007). [1]

[edit] Awards

[edit] Terra Estrangeira

Won 8 international awards, including

  • Rencontres Internationales de Cinéma de Paris, Audience Grand Prize
  • Film Festival of Bergamo
  • Film Festival of Belfort.

[edit] Central do Brasil

55 international awards, including:

[edit] Abril Despedaçado

[edit] The Motorcycle Diaries

[edit] Main filmography

[edit] References

[edit] External links