João Gonzalez (born February 11, 1996) is a Portuguese film director and animator based in Porto. He is mostly known for writing and directing the multi-award-winning short film ''

Ice Merchants Ice Merchants is a 2022 animated short film directed by João Gonzalez. The 14-minute short about family love is the first ever Portuguese animation to be awarded at the Cannes Film Festival, where it premiered as part of the 2022 Critics' Week ...

','' which premiered and was awarded at Cannes Film Festival the same year. On January 24, 2023, "Ice Merchants" became the first Portuguese production to ever receive an Academy Award nomination.

Career

Gonzalez did a Multimedia Arts BA at ESMAD in Porto, where he graduated in 2017, specialising in the field of

animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

. Recipient of a scholarship from the

Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation ( pt, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One o ...

, he did a Masters of Arts at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

(UK), from which he graduated in 2020. , he works as a director and animator in Porto, at the COLA animation collective. He is also a composer, working on the original scores of his films.

Filmography

* ''The Voyager'' (2017) * ''Nestor'' (2019) * ''

'' (2022)

Recognition

His first film and final BA project ''The Voyager'' received the International New Talent Award at the BFI Future Film Festival and Best Student Film awards at CINANIMA. His Master's film "Nestor" received the António Gaio Award at Cinanima and Best Student Film Award at the Quirino Awards. His latest film, ''

'', was shortlisted and nominated for the

95th Academy Awards The 95th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), will honor films released in 2022, and is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on March 12, 2023. Comed ...

and received a nomination for Best European Short Film at the 2022

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the most ...

. Gonzalez is the first Portuguese animation filmmaker to be awarded at Festival de Cannes, where his film ''

'' won the Jury Prize for Best Short film, in competition at the Critics Week. The film has received 9 Oscar Qualifying Awards, including the Golden Hugo for Best Animation Short Film at the

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

and the Best Animation Short Film Award at the

Melbourne International Film Festival The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an annual film festival held over three weeks in Melbourne, Australia. It was founded in 1952 and is one of the oldest film festivals in the world following the founding of the Venice Film Fest ...

References

External links

*
João Gonzalez
at Unifrance.
João Gonzalez
on

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Joao Portuguese film directors Animation directors Portuguese animators Portuguese composers Portuguese film score composers Portuguese male film score composers Living people 1996 births