Walter Salles
Salles at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012
Born
Walter Moreira Salles Júnior

(1956-04-12) 12 April 1956 (age 67)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Film director, producer, editor
Spouse
Maria Klabin
​
​
(m. 2004; div. 2021)​
Children2
Parent
RelativesJoão Moreira Salles (brother)
Pedro Moreira Salles (brother)

Walter Moreira Salles Júnior (/ˈsɑːlɪs/;[1] born 12 April 1956) is a Brazilian filmmaker.

Early life

Salles was born on 12 April 1956 in Rio de Janeiro and attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts.[2] He is the son of Brazilian banker, politician and philanthropist Walter Moreira Salles.

Career

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. Salles won a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, becoming the first Brazilian to win a Golden Globe.

In 2001, Abril Despedaçado (Behind the Sun), based on a novel by Albanian author Ismail Kadare and starring Rodrigo Santoro, was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Golden Globes.[3] Salles said: ".. there was one book that resonated to the point where I couldn't forget it. And that was 'Broken April' by Ismail Kadare. The book was handed to me by my younger brother, who said, 'If I know you well, this will touch you.' ... What really struck me was the opposition between the atavistic violence described in the book and the possibility for that violence to be overpowered by the discovery of poetry and literature and ultimately by brotherly love."[4]

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.[5] 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.

Salles in 2005

In 2005, Salles released 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.

In 2006, Salles wrote and directed a segment in the French film Paris, je t'aime (French for "Paris, I love you") with Daniela Thomas. The film is a collection of 18 shorter segments made by different 21 directors and set in different arrondissements of Paris. Salles' segment called "Loin du 16e" (literally: "Far from the 16th") and took place in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.

In 2007, Salles took part in a similar project called To Each His Own Cinema (French: Chacun son cinéma) in the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival. He made a 3-minute segment called "A 8 944 km de Cannes" (English: 5,557 Miles From Cannes).

In 2008, Salles wrote and directed the film Linha de Passe also with Daniela Thomas.[6] It is a story about four brothers from a poor family who need to fight to follow their dreams. He was nominated for the Golden Palm and Sandra Corveloni won the best actress award for her role in this film in Cannes Film Festival in 2008.

In 2009, Salles signed a petition in support of film director Roman Polanski, calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.[7]

In 2012, Salles released José Rivera's screenplay adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, with Francis Ford Coppola producing. The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.[8][9]

Political views

In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Salles signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.[10][11][12]

Filmography

Key
† Indicates a documentary ‡ Indicates a short film
List of films directed by Walter Salles
Year Original title English release title Language(s) Notes
1986 Japão: Uma Viagem No Tempo † Portuguese TV documentary series. Four episodes.
1987 Krajcberg: O Poeta Dos Vestígios † Portuguese Documentary on Frans Krajcberg.
1988 Marisa Monte † Portuguese Co-directed with Nelson Motta. Documentary and concert film on Marisa Monte.
1989 Chico, ou O País Da Delicadeza Perdida † Portuguese Co-directed with Nelson Motta. Medium-length documentary on Chico Buarque.
1991 A Grande Arte Exposure / The Knife / High Art / Knife Fighter Portuguese, English, Spanish
1995 Un Siécle d'Écrivains † French TV documentary series. One episode.
1995 Terra Estrangeira Foreign Land Portuguese Co-directed with Daniela Thomas.
1995 Tom E A Bossa Nova † Antônio Carlos Jobim: An All-Star Tribute Portuguese, English Last recorded performance of Antônio Carlos Jobim.
1996 Socorro Nobre † Life Somewhere Else Portuguese
1998 Central Do Brasil Central Station Portuguese, German Brazilian-french coproduction.
1999 O Primeiro Dia Midnight Portuguese Co-directed with Daniela Thomas.
1999 Somos Todos Filhos Da Terra † Portuguese Co-directed with Kátia Lund, João Moreira Salles and Daniela Thomas. Short documentary on Adão Dãxalebaradã.
2001 Abril Despedaçado Behind the Sun Portuguese
2002 Castanha E Caju Contra O Encouraçado Titanic ‡ Portuguese Co-directed with Daniela Thomas and George Moura.
2003 Armas E Paz ‡ Guns and Peace None
2004 Diarios de Motocicleta The Motorcycle Diaries Spanish, Quechua, Mapudungun
2005 Dark Water English
2006 Loin du 16e ‡ French, English, Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic Co-directed with Daniela Thomas. Segment of Paris, je t'aime (2006).
2007 À 8 944 km de Cannes ‡ 5,557 Miles From Cannes Mandarin, English, French, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Yiddish, Arabic Segment of To Each His Own Cinema (2007).
2008 Linha de Passe Portuguese Co-directed with Daniela Thomas.
2010 In Search of the World Portuguese Cinematic essay during the adaptation process of Jack Kerouac's On the Road.
2012 On the Road English, French
2013 Venice 70: Future Reloaded ‡ English Segment director.
2016 Jia Zhang-ke by Walter Salles † Jia Zhang-ke by Walter Salles / Jia Zhang-ke: A Guy from Fenyang Mandarin Documentary on Jia Zhangke.
2017 When the Earth Trembles ‡ Portuguese, Russian, Hindi, English, Chinese Segment of Where Has the Time Gone? (2017).
Ainda Estou Aqui Portuguese
Terra Portuguese
The Man in the Rockefeller Suit English

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Walter Salles

In July 2022 Salles was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of letters by the University of Reading.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Say How: S". National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
  2. ^ "USC Cinematic Arts – Notable Alumni". Cinema.usc.edu. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  3. ^ Rohter, Larry (6 March 2001). "ARTS ABROAD; Brazilians Love Their Wild West (in the Northeast)". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Kehr, Dave (21 December 2001). "AT THE MOVIES". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Bradshaw, Peter; Brooks, Xan; Haskell, Molly; Malcolm, Derek; Pulver, Andrew; Rich, B Ruby; Rose, Steve (14 November 2003). "The world's 40 best directors". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Linha de Passe". IMDb.com. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  7. ^ Shoard, Catherine; agencies (29 September 2009). "Release Polanski, demands petition by film industry luminaries". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 January 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  8. ^ "2012 Official Selection". Festival-cannes.fr. 2012. Archived from the original on 2 December 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Cannes Film Festival 2012 line-up announced". Timeout.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 20 December 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Gaza : des cinéastes du monde entier demandent un cessez-le-feu immédiat". Libération (in French). 28 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  11. ^ Newman, Nick (29 December 2023). "Claire Denis, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Christian Petzold, Apichatpong Weerasethakul & More Sign Demand for Ceasefire in Gaza". The Film Stage. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Directors of cinema sign petition for immediate ceasefire". The Jerusalem Post. 31 December 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  13. ^ "Director Walter Salles gets Honorary degree from Reading". 6 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.

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