Walter Moreira Salles Júnior (; 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 , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

School of Cinematic Arts. He is the son of Brazilian banker, politician and philanthropist Walter Moreira Salles.

Film 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 do Brasil () is a major train station in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. It is the last stop of Rio's railway network, as well as a hub for connection with the city subway and a bus station. Central do Brasil was also a preemine ...

'' (''Central Station'') to widespread international acclaim and two

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 ...

nominations, for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Foreign Language Film. Salles won a

Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film is a Golden Globe Award presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Until 1986, it was known as the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film, meaning that any non-American film coul ...

, 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 Ismail Kadare (; spelled Ismaïl Kadaré in French; born on 28 January 1936) is an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright. He is a leading international literary figure and intellectual. He focused on poetry until the pu ...

and starring Rodrigo Santoro, was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Golden Globes. 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." Both films were produced by veteran

Arthur Cohn Arthur Cohn (born February 4, 1927) is a film producer and a multiple Academy Award winner. Biography Cohn was born to a Jewish family, the son of Marcus Cohn, a lawyer and leader of the Swiss Zionist movement who moved to Israel in 1949 where h ...

, and had worldwide distribution. In 2003, Salles was voted one of the 40 Best Directors in the World by ''

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''. 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

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(

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, in this case) and quickly became a box-office hit in Latin America and Europe. Waltersalles

In 2005, Salles released his first Hollywood film, ''

Dark Water Dark Water may refer to: Books * '' Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil'', 1920 book by American philosopher W.E.B. Du Bois * ''Dark Water'' (book) (仄暗い水の底から; ''Honogurai mizu no soko kara''; literally ''In the Depths of Dark ...

'', an adaptation of the 2002 Japanese film of the same name. He also helped to produce the Argentine picture ''

Hermanas ''Hermanas'' () is a 2005 drama film written and directed by Julia Solomonoff, her first feature motion picture. The picture has a number of producers, including: Mariela Besuievski, Pablo Bossi, Florencia Enghel, Gerardo Herrero, Vanessa Ragone, ...

'', which was a major success. In 2006, Salles wrote and directed a segment in the French film ''

Paris, je t'aime ''Paris, je t'aime'' (; ''Paris, I love you'') is a 2006 anthology film starring an ensemble cast of actors of various nationalities. The two-hour film consists of eighteen short films set in different arrondissements (districts). The 22 director ...

'' ( French for "Paris, I love you") with

Daniela Thomas Daniela Thomas (born 1959) is a Brazilian film director, screenwriter and editor. Early life In 1959, Thomas was born as Daniela Gontijo Alves Pinto in Brazil. Thomas' father is Ziraldo Alves Pinto, a cartoonist. Thomas' brother is Antonio P ...

. The film is a collection of 18 shorter segments made by different 21 directors and set in different

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

s 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 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 ...

. 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 ''Linha de Passe'' is a 2008 Brazilian drama film directed by Walter Salles and Daniela Thomas. Written by Salles, Thomas and Bráulio Mantovani, the film stars Vinícius de Oliveira and Sandra Corveloni, who won the Best Actress Award at the ...

'' also with Daniela Thomas. 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 Sandra Corveloni (born May 9, 1965) is a Brazilian film, stage and television actress. Born in Flórida Paulista and raised in São Paulo, Corveloni graduated in performing arts in the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP) ...

won the best actress award for her role in this film in

in 2008. In 2009, Salles signed a petition in support of film director

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...

, 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. 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 The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

In July 2022 Salles was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of letters by the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

References

External links

*
Video interview with Walter Salles opening Cambridge Film Festival 2008 with "Linha de Passe" ITV Anglia

Interview with Walter Salles at Cannes 2008 on "Linha de Passe" at IFC.com

Walter Salles interviewed by Michael Ordoña
for the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Salles, Walter 1956 births Living people People from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian film directors Brazilian film producers Brazilian racing drivers Brazilian billionaires Superstars Series drivers ADAC GT Masters drivers Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro alumni USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni Salles family Directors of Golden Bear winners Filmmakers who won the Best Foreign Language Film BAFTA Award Lafer-Klabin family American directors