Fernando Meirelles | |
|---|---|
.JPG) Meirelles at the Austrian premiere of360 in 2012 | |
| Born | Fernando Ferreira Meirelles (1955-11-09)9 November 1955 (age 70) São Paulo, Brazil |
| Alma mater | University of São Paulo |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1982–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | List |
Fernando Ferreira Meirelles (Brazilian Portuguese:[feʁˈnɐ̃dumejˈɾɛlis]; born 9 November 1955) is a Brazilian filmmaker. He is best known for co-directing the filmCity of God, released in 2002 in Brazil and in 2003 in theU.S. byMiramax Films, which received international critical acclaim. For his work in the film, he was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Director. He was also nominated for aGolden Globe Award for Best Director in 2005 forThe Constant Gardener, which garnered theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress forRachel Weisz. He also directed the2008 adaptation ofJosé Saramago's novelBlindness, and the 2011 film360. In 2019, Meirelles directedThe Two Popes forNetflix.
In television, Meirelles directed and produced in Brazil theHBO original seriesJoint Venture. In 2024, he led directing work for the crime seriesSugar and the historical miniseriesThe Sympathizer.
"A great tragedy for the family. For a long time, it was a taboo. No one mentioned it. I was four when it happened, but I still remember him."
Meirelles was born inSão Paulo, Brazil.[2] Meirelles' father, José de Souza Meirelles, is agastroenterologist who travelled regularly toAsia andNorth America (among other regions of the world), which gave Fernando the opportunity for contact with different cultures and places. His mother, Sônia Junqueira Ferreira, worked inlandscape architecture andinterior design.[3]
Fernando is the second youngest of four children. He saw his older brother, José Marcos, die in a car-bike accident when he was 4 years old. His two sisters, Márcia and Silvinha, graduated in theater and psychology, respectively. Fernando grew up inAlto dos Pinheiros, West Zone of São Paulo, and spent every vacation on the farms of relatives from both sides of his family. "Even I have a farm. I don't know why I bought it", he was quoted as saying.[4]
His first experience with cinema was with his father, who often directed8 mm films during his job at the university. He produced mostlywestern andthrillerparodies, using his relatives and friends as actors. At 11, in 1967, Fernando spent a year in theUnited States inCalifornia, where he had contact with thehippie movement, which impressed him. At 13, with a borrowedSuper 8 camera, Meirelles started producing small films, inspired byNorman McLaren's animations.[citation needed]
He studied at theArchitecture and Urbanism College in theUniversity of São Paulo during the 1980s. His graduation work was done in the form of a film, instead of the traditional designs of the other students: he went toJapan and bought professional video equipment to do the job. He presented it and graduated with the minimum acceptable grade.
While studyingarchitecture at the University of queens mary, Meirelles became involved in experimental film-making. After several years in independent television, he became an advertisement film director. He is still one of the partners of O2 Filmes, the biggest Brazilian advertisement firm, which has producedCity of God,Domésticas andViva Voz.
Along with four friends (Paul Morelli, Marcelo Machado, Dário Vizeu and Bob Salatini), Meirelles began his career with experimental films. Eventually, they formed an independent production companyOlhar Eletrônico. Subsequently, new friends joined the group: Renato Barbiere, Agilson Araujo, Toniko andMarcelo Tas. In 1982, the company aired TV programs on current affairs, as well as the children seriesCastelo Rá-Tim-Bum, with 180 episodes. In addition to obtaining high ratings, they also introduced a refreshing humorous informality in news reporting.
By the end of the 1980s, he became increasingly interested on the advertising market. In 1990, Meirelles and friends closed downOlhar Eletrônico, opening an advertising business, O2 Films. One decade was enough for him to become one of the most important and sought-after advertising producers.
In 1997, Meirelles read the bookPaulo Lins'sCity of God. He decided to adapt it to film, which was done in 2002, and decided that the actors in it would be selected among the inhabitants of slums. In a final triage, from 400 children, they selected 200, with whom they worked for the shooting of the film. The filming was done with a professional crew. The film was a national and international success.
In 2004, he was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Director forCity of God. Also, at the2004 Cannes Film Festival, the movie received four nominations: Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.
With the recognition, he was offered a job inHollywood. WithThe Constant Gardener, he again received critical acclaim, receiving several nominations, including for fourAcademy Awards and theGolden Globe Award for Best Director.Rachel Weisz went on to win theAcademy Award and theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. Meirelles insisted that the soundtrack be based on the music of African countries, and most of the filming was done in Kenya.
In 2007, he began shootingBlindness, a film adaptation of Nobel-prize winnerJosé Saramago's book,Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira. The film, which was released in 2008, was the opening film of theCannes Film Festival.
He was one of the creative directors of the opening ceremony of the2016 Olympics inRio de Janeiro, working alongsideDaniela Thomas andAndrucha Waddington[5]on a shoestring budget equivalent to less than £5 million.[6]
In 2019, Meirelles directed and produced theHBO original seriesJoint Venture, in which marijuana has been legalized in Brazil. The series follows the story of a young drug trafficker from São Paulo who, after the legalization of marijuana in Brazil, decides to abandon his life on crime and sell his weed legally along with an inexperienced investor partner. In the same year, he directed the drama filmThe Two Popes forNetflix, starringAnthony Hopkins andJonathan Pryce.
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Menino Maluquinho 2: A Aventura | Yes | No | No | Co-directed with Fabrizia Pinto |
| 2001 | Maids | Yes | Yes | No | Co-directed with Nando Olival |
| 2002 | City of God | Yes | No | No | Co-directed withKátia Lund |
| 2005 | The Constant Gardener | Yes | No | No | |
| 2008 | Blindness | Yes | No | No | |
| 2011 | 360 | Yes | No | No | |
| 2019 | The Two Popes | Yes | No | No | |
| 2026 | Animal Race | Yes | No | No | Co-directed with Rodrigo Pesavento and Ernesto Solis |
| TBA | Here Comes the Flood | Yes | No | Yes | Filming |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | E no Meio Passa Um Trem | Co-directed with Nando Olival |
| 2014 | A Musa | Segment ofRio, I Love You |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Marly Normal | Co-directed with Marcelo Machado. |
| Brasília | ||
| 1986 | Olhar Eletrônico | Segment director |
| Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Rá-Tim-Bum | Yes | No | Yes | Directed 31 episodes |
| 2013 | A Verdade de Cada Um[8] | No | Yes | No | |
| 2015 | Os Experientes[9] | Yes | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| Felizes para Sempre? | Yes | Yes | No | 5 episodes | |
| 2019 | Pico da Neblina | Yes | Yes | No | 2 episodes |
| 2024 | Sugar | Yes | Executive | No | 5 episodes |
| The Sympathizer | Yes | No | No | Episode "Give Us Some Good Lines" |
| Year | Feature | Academy Awards | BAFTAs | Golden Globes | Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | Nominations | Wins | ||
| 2001 | Maids | 7 | |||||||
| 2002 | City of God | 4 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 6 | |||
| 2005 | The Constant Gardener | 4 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2008 | Blindness | 14 | 4 | ||||||
| 2019 | The Two Popes | 3 | 5 | 4 | |||||
| Total | 11 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 38 | 11 | |
