Karim Aïnouz (; ; born 17 January 1966) is a Brazilian film director and visual artist. He is best known for his film '' The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão.''

Career

Karim Aïnouz was born to a Brazilian mother and an Algerian father, in

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

, in the

Brazilian Northeast The Northeast Region of Brazil ( ) is one of the five official and political regions of the country according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Of Brazil's twenty-six states, it comprises nine: Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará, R ...

. He is a film director, screenwriter and visual artist. Aïnouz's feature debut, ''Madame Satã'', premiered at the ''

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

'' section of the

2002 Cannes Film Festival The 55th Cannes Film Festival took place from 15 to 26 May 2002. American filmmaker David Lynch served as jury president for the main competition. Virginie Ledoyen hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. French-Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski ...

. His following films, '' Suely in the Sky'', and '' I Travel Because I Have to, I Come Back Because I Love You'', co-directed with Marcelo Gomes, premiered at the ''Orizzonti'' of the in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Venice Film Festival. In 2011, '' The Silver Cliff'' was presented in the

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (, formerly ) is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festival as a ...

and won Best Director at the

Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival The Festival do Rio is an international film festival in Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populou ...

. In television, Aïnouz created and directed ''Alice'', a 13 episode fiction series for HBO Brasil. His short films and installations have been shown at numerous venues including The Whitney Museum of American Art, the São Paulo Biennial, the Sharjah Biennial and Videobrasil. As creative advisor and lecturer, Aïnouz has been invited to numerous Screenwriters Labs and institutions such as

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Wexner Center for the Arts The Wexner Center for the Arts is the Ohio State University's "multidisciplinary, international laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art." The Wexner Center is a lab and public gallery, but not an art museum, as it doe ...

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

, EICTV among others. Karim Aïnouz has been developing, alongside fellow filmmakers Marcelo Gomes and Sérgio Machado, ''The Center for Audiovisual Narratives'' in partnership with State authorities of Ceará, Brazil. Among other activities, they coordinate and work as creative advisors to the Screenwriters Lab, a one-year program committed to the development of a new generation of filmmakers, providing support throughout their projects. Since 2017, Aïnouz is a member of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

. Karim Aïnouz documentary ''Zentralflughafen THF'', premiered at the 68th Berlinale – Panorama, won the Amnesty International Film Award, and has been screened in over 10 festivals. His previous feature '' Futuro Beach'', had its world premiere at the 64th Berlinale Competition. In 2019 he released '' The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão'', an adaptation of the Brazilian novel ''A Vida Invisivel de Eurídice Gusmão,'' written by Martha Batalha, depicting the struggle of two sisters against repression and bigotry in the 1950s

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. The film was screened at the ''

'' section of the

2019 Cannes Film Festival The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2019. Mexican filmmaker Alejandro González Iñárritu served as jury president for the main competition. South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho won the , the festival's top prize, fo ...

, where it won the section top prize. In 2021, Aïnouz released his third documentary, ''Mariner of the Mountains'', which followed his search for his Algerian roots in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, the homeland of his father. In 2023, Aïnouz released his English language debut film, '' Firebrand'', as part of the main competition of the

2023 Cannes Film Festival The 76th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 16 to 27 May 2023. Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund served as jury president. With the French film ''Anatomy of a Fall'' winning the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, Justine Triet became ...

. The film follows the final years of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

's reign and his wife

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr ( – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort o ...

. In 2024, Aïnouz went back to the

with the erotic thriller '' Motel Destino'', set in his hometown

. The film had its world premiere at the

2024 Cannes Film Festival The 77th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2024. American filmmaker and actress Greta Gerwig served as jury president for the main competition. American filmmaker Sean Baker (filmmaker), Sean Baker won the Palme d'Or, the ...

, where it competed for the

Palme D'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

Filmography

Feature film

Documentary film

* ''Velázquez'' (2015) * ''Zentralflughafen THF'' (2018) * ''Mariner of the Mountains'' (2021)

Short film

Documentary short

TV series

Awards

* 1994: Award for Best Short, Atlanta Film Festival, for ''Seams'' * 1997: Award for Best Short, Ann Arbor Film Festival, for ''Seams'' * 2002: Award for Best Director,

Biarritz Film Festival The Biarritz Festival Latin America () is an international film festival held annually in the French city of Biarritz since 1979. Awards * HUG for Best Feature * Jury Award for Best Feature * Best Actress * Best Actor * Feature Film Audience ...

, for ''Madame Satã'' * 2002: Award for Best Director, São Paulo Association of Art Critics Awards, for ''Madame Satã'' * 2002: Gold Hugo,

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 ...

, for ''Madame Satã'' * 2006: Grand Coral Award, Havana Film Festival, for ''Love for Sale'' * 2006: Award for Best Director, Rio International Film Festival, for ''Love for Sale'' * 2006: Award for Best Film, Rio International Film Festival, for ''Love for Sale'' * 2006: FIPRESCI Award, 47th Thessaloniki International Film Festival, for ''Love for Sale'' * 2009: Award for Best Director, Rio International Film Festival, for ''I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You'' * 2009: FIPRESCI Award, Havana Film Festival, for ''I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You'' * 2009: Third Grand Coral Award, Havana Film Festival, for ''I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You'' * 2010: Grand Prix Coup de Coeur, 22º Rencontres Cinémas d'Amérique Latin (Toulouse/France), for ''I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You'' co-directed with Marcelo Gomes. * 2011: Award for Best Director, Rio International Film Festival, for ''The Silver Cliff'' * 2011: Second Grand Coral Award,

Havana Film Festival The Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Latin American filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as ''Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana,'' and in English as International Festiv ...

, for ''The Silver Cliff'' * 2018: Amnesty International Film Prize, Berlinale, for ''Zentralflughafen THF'' * 2019: ''

Prix Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews ...

'' for '' The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão''

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ainouz, Karim 1966 births Living people People from Fortaleza Brazilian people of Algerian descent Brazilian film directors Brazilian artists Algerian people of Brazilian descent