Bruno de Almeida (11 March 1965) is an independent filmmaker whose body of work navigates between fiction and documentaries. He is also a composer. He is New York City and

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

-based.

Biography

Bruno de Almeida was born in Paris of Portuguese origins. He has lived between

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

since 1985.

Career

Bruno de Almeida started his artistic career has a musician in the New York downtown music scene in the mid 80's. He was a guitarist with

Graham Haynes Graham Haynes (born September 16, 1960 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American cornetist, trumpeter and composer. The son of jazz drummer Roy Haynes, Graham is known for his work in nu jazz, fusing jazz with elements of hip hop and electronic mus ...

fusion band No Image playing in several clubs in

. Along with Mr. Haynes, he formed an experimental music duo playing in such places like

The Knitting Factory The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

and The Roulette. He played guitar with The Saheb Sarbib Quintet at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and had a Jazz duo with guitarist Sérgio Pelágio. Bruno de Almeida went on to compose music for film and dance pieces. He wrote music for choreographers Francisco Camacho,

Vera Mantero Vera Mantero (born 1966) is a Portuguese dancer and choreographer. After performing for five years with the Gulbenkian Ballet, she turned to choreography in 1987 and has since performed widely in Europe and North and South America. A major figure ...

Paulo Ribeiro Paulo António da Silva Ribeiro (born 6 March 1984) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Ribeiro was born in Setúbal. After emerging through local Vitória FC's youth academy and making his Pri ...

, among others. In 1988, Bruno de Almeida joined Film/Video Arts in NYC where he became a filmmaker starting out as a cameraman and film editor. He photographer several shorts and music videos for other filmmakers learning the technical craft hands on. At Film/Video Arts he made his first short film ''Anti-Glamour'', a documentary about photographer Pepe Diniz. Bruno de Almeida went on to open his production compan
Arco Films
in 1990 as an outlet to produce his own films. His first directorial job was a video concert of the legendary singer Amália Rodrigues "Amália Rodrigues, live in NYC" which was shot at NY's Town Hall. The video was distributed by EMI. In 1992, Bruno de Almeida directed the film "The King in Exile" about the dance piece by choreographe
Francisco Camacho
which played on television and Festivals worldwide. He has collaborated with Mr. Camacho since then. Bruno de Almeida's first dramatic film, '' The Debt'', starring Scott Renderer,

Kristen Johnston Kristen Angela Johnston (born September 20, 1967) is an American actress. Best known for her work on television sitcoms, she twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Sally Solomon in ...

and Paul Lazar, won the award for best short at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

Critic's Week in 1993 and had a long run playing in 85 film festivals. The film won another eight awards and was subsequently released theatrically ahead of features, and broadcast in several countries. In 1994, Bruno de Almeida made a five-hour television series about Amália Rodrigues called ''Amália, A Strange Way of Living'' which was broadcast on television in 1995. It was then released on a deluxe set VHS set by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

and is presently available on DVD. Bruno de Almeida's feature debut ''

On the Run On the Run may refer to: * "On the run", a phrase often used to describe a fugitive, a person fleeing custody Literature * ''On the Run'' (novel), by Nina Bawden * On the Run (novel series), by Gordon Korman * ''On the Run'', a novel in the S ...

'' starring

Michael Imperioli Michael Imperioli (born March 26, 1966) is an American actor, writer, and musician. He is best known for his role as Christopher Moltisanti in the HBO crime drama ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Out ...

John Ventimiglia John Ventimiglia (, ) is an American actor. He portrayed Artie Bucco in the HBO television series ''The Sopranos'' and had a recurring role as Dino Arbogast, an Organized Crime Control Bureau Chief for the NYPD, on the American police procedur ...

and written by Joe Minion (writer of '' After Hours'')won the award for best film at the 1999 Ourense Film Festival in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. ''

'' was nominated for a Critic's award at the

Paris Film Festival The Festival du Film de Paris, also known as Paris Film Festival, was a film festival held annually in Paris, France. It was launched in 1986 as a youth-oriented festival. In 2002, the municipal government withdrew funding and began Festival Paris ...

and for the Open Palm Award at the

Gotham Awards The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published on ...

in New York in 2000. It was released theatrically and broadcast in Europe and in the US. It had its cable debut on The Independent Film Channel in 2001, and was released on DVD in 2002, becoming a

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

. His second feature was ''

The Art of Amália ''The Art of Amália'' is a documentary by Bruno de Almeida on the artistic career of Amália Rodrigues (1920–1999), the celebrated Fado singer from Portugal. The 90-minute film is based on a previous five-hour made-for-television mini-serie ...

'', a documentary about

Amália Rodrigues Amália da Piedade Rebordão Rodrigues GCSE, GCIH (23 July 1920 – 6 October 1999), better known as Amália Rodrigues () or popularly as Amália, was a Portuguese '' fadista'' (fado singer) and actress. Known as the 'Rainha do Fado' ("Queen ...

which was produced for American audiences. It was released theatrically, and had a long run across the US, in 2000. The film was broadcast in the US and Europe and was released on DVD in July 2004 by

. It went

double platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

as the top-selling DVD in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

for four consecutive weeks. The film continues to play around the world celebrating Amália Rodrigues' music. Bruno's third feature, ''O Candidato Vieira'', was a documentary about the satirical Portuguese rock star Manuel João Vieira, who ran for presidential candidate in 2001. It was released in the summer of 2005 on a double DVD along with a concert video of his band Ena Pá 2000. Bruno de Almeida has also directed other projects that include documentaries, commercials, and music videos. From 1999 to 2004, he directed several projects for the

Independent Film Channel IFC (formerly known as the Independent Film Channel) is an American basic cable channel owned by AMC Networks, originally launching in 1994 as a TV channel devoted to independent films. The Independent Film Channel originally operated as a com ...

. In 2005, Almeida created a film for ''Live/Evil - Evil/Live'', a dance piece by choreographe
Francisco Camacho
which premiered at the International Dance Festival in

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

and was shown at Lisbon's Culturgest. Almeida continued his collaboration with Mr. Camacho with the film for the dance piece ''RIP'' in 2010 also shown at Lisbon's Culturgest and other festivals. Bruno directed the music video "Sei de um Rio" for fado singer amané in 2008 and in 2013 he directed
Fado Celeste: Homenagem aos 90 anos
' a tribute to singer Celeste Rodrigues (Amália's sister) 90th birthday. In 2005, he completed his fourth feature film, ''The Collection'', a compilation of 24 short stories that were developed and created with a group of New York actors and writers over a four-year period. It was released on DVD in April 2006 by Midas Filmes. In 2007, Bruno de Almeida's fifth feature '' The Lovebirds'', starring

Drena De Niro Drena De Niro (born September 3, 1971) is an American actress and filmmaker who is the daughter of Diahnne Abbott and adoptive daughter of Robert De Niro after their marriage in 1976. Life and career De Niro is the daughter of actress Diahnne ...

Joaquim de Almeida Joaquim António Portugal Baptista de Almeida (born 15 March 1957) is a Portuguese actor. Almeida began his acting career in theatre during the 1980s, he started his film career appearing on the 1982 action film '' The Soldier'', and later ach ...

, and

Ana Padrão Ana Padrão (born 4 July 1967) is a Portuguese film actress. She appeared in more than eighty films since 1987. Selected filmography References External links * 1967 births Living people Portuguese film actresses Actresses from Lis ...

, won the Jury Prize at Fantasporto Film Festival director's week and at the Best director and screenplay awards of the Ourense International Film Festival. It had a successful theatrical run and DVD release in Portugal and played in film festivals worldwide. His film ''6=0 Homeostética'', a feature documentary about the art group Homeostética, won a special mention award at the DocLisboa Festival in 2008. It was released in theaters, broadcast on television and released on DVD by Midas Filmes. Bruno de Almeida's ''Bobby Cassidy: Counterpuncher'', a feature documentary on the former professional boxer from Levittown, New York was played at DocLisboa Festival and was released theatrically in 2009. The film was broadcast on television and released on DVD. Bruno also documented a series of retired fighters in ''After the Fight'' a documentary film still in progress. Bruno created a multimedia installation called "Esse Olhar Que Era Só Teu" with guitarists Tó Trips and Pedro Gonçalves (from

Dead Combo Dead Combo were a Portuguese band, consisting of Tó Trips and Pedro Gonçalves. Dead Combo played mostly instrumental music with a wide range of influences, such as Latin American music, Spaghetti Western film soundtracks, fado, African music, b ...

) which was exhibited at CCB/The Berardo Museum in Lisbon and later as a concert-film. Bruno made the film and played guitars and turntables. It premiered at the Vila do Conde Film Festival in 2010. In 2012, he directed ''

Operation Autumn ''Operation Autumn'' ( pt, Operação Outono) is a 2012 film directed by Bruno de Almeida and starring John Ventimiglia and Carlos Santos (actor), Carlos Santos. A political thriller about the operation that lead to the brutal assassination of Gen ...

'', a political thriller about the 1965 killing of General

Humberto Delgado Humberto da Silva Delgado, ComC, GCA, GOA, ComA, OA, ComSE, GCL, OIP, CBE (Portuguese pronunciation: �ˈbɛɾtu dɛɫˈɡadu 15 May 1906 – 13 February 1965) was a General of the Portuguese Air Force, diplomat and politician. Early life ...

by the Portuguese fascist police. With an ensemble cast that includes

, Marcello Urgeghe,

Nuno Lopes Nuno Miguel Pereira Lopes (born 6 May 1978) is a Portuguese actor and DJ. He's internationally known for his role in ''Saint George'', the Portuguese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, and most recently for his ...

, among others, it went on to win several awards including the SPA best actor award for Carlos Santos. The film was produced by

Paulo Branco Paulo Branco (born 3 June 1950) is a Portuguese film producer. Life and career Paulo Branco was born in Lisbon, and attended the undergraduate program in chemical engineering at the Instituto Superior Técnico but he did not graduate. He starte ...

. It was released in theaters, broadcast on television, release on DVD an shown in film festivals worldwide. Bruno de Almeida was invited by Guimarães 2012, European Capital of Culture, to make a 30-minute film. The result was ''the Lecture'' starring John Frey and Ana Padrão which was shown in Film Festivals, broadcast on television and release on DVD. Bruno de Almeida ninth feature ''Fado Camané'', is a documentary about acclaimed

fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado was ...

singer

Camané Camané (born Carlos Manuel Moutinho Paiva dos Santos Duarte, 20 December 1966 in Oeiras) is a male vocalist and a forerunner of the new generation of fado male singers. "The greatest fadista since Amália Rodrigues and Maria da Fé," is how B ...

. It premiered at the DocLisboa Festival on and went to a successful theatrical release in October 2014. It has played in film festivals worldwide and is considered one of best fado documentaries to date. In 2016, Bruno de Almeida directed ''Cabaret Maxime'' the story about a cabaret owner trying to keep his club from being taken over by the powers that be. Written by Bruno de Almeida and John Frey, the film stars

, Ana Padrão, John Ventimiglia, David Proval, Nick Sandow, Mike Starr and Manuel João Vieira among others. ''Cabaret Maxime'' was produced by Bruno de Almeida, Michael Imperioli and Jason Kliot. The film was release theatrically in Portugal in 2018 and in the US in 2020 and won several awards including Best Feature Film and Best Actress (Ana Padrão) at SPA Authors Awards 2019. It is available on all digital platforms and DVD. Bruno de Almeida's first album ''Cinema Imaginado (Volume1)'' comes out March 25, 2022, on all digital platforms and CD. Featuring extraordinary musicians like

on Cornet, Ricardo Toscano on Alto Sax, Mário Franco on bass and

Frank London Frank London (born 1958 in New York) is an American klezmer trumpeter who also plays jazz and world music. Early life London was born to a Reform Jewish family and grew up in New York and Connecticut. He started playing the trumpet in fourth g ...

on trumpet, the album is a hybrid of acid jazz, spoken word, fusion, world music and alternative urban fusion. It is produced and distributed by BAMusic, Bruno's new record label. Bruno returns to music with a sonic and lyrical universe that recalls his best independent film work where comedy and drama organically mix with decaying urban landscapes and off-beat characters. Bruno's new album Cinema Imaginado (Volume 2) was released on January 27, 2023, and once again features and eclectic group of world-class musicians such as Graham Haynes on cornet, Ricardo Toscano on sax and Mário Franco on bass. Continuing in the style of Volume 1, this album is a hybrid of acid jazz, fusion, fado, electronics and spoken word.

Filmography

Discography

References

Cabaret Maxime - Review New York Times (in English)

Cabaret Maxime - Review Vague Visages (in English)

Cabaret Maxime - Metrograph, NYC (in English)

Cabaret Maxime - Review Frank Coelho (in English)

Cabaret Maxime - Review Visão (in Portuguese)

Cabaret Maxime - Review Público (in Portuguese)

Cabaret Maxime - Review JL (in Portuguese)

Cabaret Maxime - Review Playboy Portugal (in Portuguese)

Fado Camané - Review Público (in Portuguese)

External links

Bruno de Almeida official site

Bruno de Almeida page on Facebook

Bruno de Almeida channel on Vimeo

Bruno de Almeida channel on YouTube

Cinema Imaginado page on Facebook

IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Almeida, Bruno Living people 1965 births Portuguese film directors French people of Portuguese descent