Kátia Lund (born March 13, 1966) is a Brazilian film director and screenwriter. Her most notable work was as co-director of the film '' City of God''.
Early life
Lund was born in
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
, to American parents who emigrated to
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
before she was born. She graduated from Escola Maria Imaculada, an American Catholic school in São Paulo where she excelled in
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
. She then attended Brown University, where she became interested in
filmmaking
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, cast ...
music videos
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
, commercials and films. Having grown up in a middle-class family, she had little knowledge of the plight of those living in
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
's ''
favelas
Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who had ...
.'' Then, she was hired to work on the
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
-directed music video for
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
's "
They Don't Care About Us
"They Don't Care About Us" is a song by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, released in April 16, 1996 as the fifth single from his ninth album, '' HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I'' (1995). It is a protest song and remains o ...
" which was filmed in a favela. The experience opened her eyes and she became determined to make films about the dwellers of these poor neighborhoods to help raise
social consciousness
Social consciousness or social awareness, is collective consciousness shared by individuals within a society.City of God'' who are real dwellers of Rio's favelas. Lund initially started her non-profit acting school to find the cast for ''City of God''. Nós do Cinema offers courses and job opportunities in films to poor children and holds screenings and discussions that help to raise social consciousness through film. She also directed a segment of the film ''
All the Invisible Children
''All the Invisible Children'' is a 2005 anthology film on the theme of childhood and exploitation. It is a collection of seven short films, each focused on a different child. The film has a total runtime of 116 minutes, averaging 16 minutes e ...
''.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
In 1996, she began work on the documentary ''Notícias de uma Guerra Particular (News of a Private War)'', an exploration of the ongoing battle between the favelas' heavily armed
drug dealers
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
(many of whom are small children) and
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
's police. It was released in 1999 to critical acclaim and was nominated for an Emmy after airing on
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
. The success of the film made her an in-demand director of music videos for Brazil's hip-hop artists. She won numerous
MTV Video Music Awards Latin America
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a d ...
.
In 2001, Lund was invited by Fernando Meirelles to co-direct ''Golden Gate (Palace II)'', a
short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
about two young boys in a favela. The film won several awards in
film festivals
A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...
all over the world. Lund and Meirelles continued their collaboration with the film '' City of God'' which received international acclaim and was nominated for four
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
including best director (Lund was not nominated, only Meirelles received recognition from the Academy). The success of that film was the springboard for the television series ''
City of Men
''Cidade dos Homens'' (English title: ''City of Men'') is a Brazilian television show created by Kátia Lund and Fernando Meirelles, the directors of the film '' City of God''. The series was watched by 35 million viewers in Brazil and was re ...
'', a continuation of the story told in ''Golden Gate''. Lund produced the show with Meirelles and directed four episodes. The show was a major hit in Brazil.