João Manuel Relvas Leopoldo Botelho (born 1949) is a Portuguese film director. He has directed and written the screenplays of numerous films. His films have won several awards. His works have been nominated for the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

's Golden Lion. Botelho was awarded the prestigious Ordem do Infante D.Henrique (Grau Comendador), one of the highest Portuguese honors, by President

Jorge Sampaio Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio (; 18 September 1939 – 10 September 2021) was a Portuguese lawyer and politician who was the 18th President of Portugal from 1996 to 2006. Sampaio was a member of the Socialist Party, a party which he ...

on 10 June 2005.

Early years

Botelho was born in

Lamego Lamego (; ) is a city and municipality in the Viseu District, in the Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region of the Douro Subregion, Douro in northern Portugal. Located on the shores of the Balsemão River, the municipality has a population of 26,691 ...

, northern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. He enrolled in mechanical engineering at the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university ...

and in cinema at the Lisbon Theatre and Film School (Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema), in 1974, dropping out in both cases. He has worked as a graphic artist. His first cinematographic works were ''O Alto do Cobre'' and ''Um Projecto de Educação Popular'', both in 1976.

Awards

*In 1985, he won the Tucano de Ouro for Best Director at the Rio de Janeiro Film Festival for ''Um Adeus Português''. *Nominated for the Golden Globes, Portugal in 1999 for Best Director and Best Film for ''Tráfico'' *OCIC Promotional Award, Forum of New Cinema for: ''Um Adeus Português'' in the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

, 1986. * Audience Award for '' A Corte do Norte'', Coimbra Caminhos do Cinema Português Festival 2009. *Special Mention for '' A Corte do Norte'' in the Rome Film Fest, in 2008. Several nominations and awards in the

: *Nominated to

Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...

for ''O Fatalista'' in 2005, ''Quem És Tu?'' in 2001 and ''Tráfico'' in 1998. *Won the Mimmo Rotella Foundation Award for ''Quem És Tu?'' in 2001 and had a FIPRESCI Prize – Honorable Mention in 1988 for ''Tempos Difíceis''.

Special participations in festivals

*Member of the jury of the 29th

São Paulo International Film Festival The São Paulo International Film Festival (), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South Ame ...

, held in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil, from 21 October to 3 November 2005. *Member of the jury of the 27th Three Continents Festival, held 22–29 November 2005 in

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, France. *Honored with a tribute by the Festival Cinéma du Réel in Paris (France) in March 2006. *Honored with a tribute by the Festival Internacional du Film de

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

(France) in June and July 1999.

Filmography

The following films were directed by Botelho. For all except ''Um Projecto De Educação Popular'', ''O Alto Do Cobre'', ''No Dia Dos Meus Anos'', ''13 Filmes X 3'', ''As Mãos E As Pedras'', and ''Viagem Ao Coração Do Douro, A Terra Onde Nasci'', he also wrote the screenplay. *''O Alto do Cobre'' (1976, Short) *''Um Projecto de Educação Popular'' (1976, Short) *''Os Bonecos de Santo Aleixo'' (1977, Feature documentary) *''Alexandre Rosa'' (1978) , Short with Jorge Alves da Silva – Premiere in Semaine des Cahiers – Paris, cinema Action République *''Conversa Acabada'' (1980, ''The Other One'') , Premiere in

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 new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, Directors' Fortnight *'' A Portuguese Goodbye'' (1985, ''A Portuguese Farewell'') , Premiere in Festival of London, Rio de Janeiro – Tucano de Ouro, New Film, New Directors, MOMA New York, Forum of Berlin *'' Tempos Difíceis'' (1988, ''Hard Times'') , Premiere in

, official selection, competition – award of Italian critics-, Festival of New York,

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

*''No Dia dos Meus Anos'' (1991, ''On My Birthday'') , On demand of RTP/ARTE sur les 4 éléments; premiere in Festival of Locarno, official selection, competition *'' Aqui na Terra'' (1993, '' Here on Earth'') ,

official selection, competition; film selected to the day of Europe, exhibition simultaneously in Germany, France and Portugal. *'' Três Palmeiras'' (1994, ''Three Palm Trees'') , On demand of Lisbon 94,

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

; premiere in

, Quinzaine des Réalisateurs *''13 Filmes X 3’'' (1996) , for ''Trio de Quattro'', RTP *''Tráfico'' (1998, ''Traffic'') , Premiere in

, official selection, competition *''Se a Memória Existe'' (1999, Digital Video, 30’) , – commande pour le 25eme anniversaire du 25 Avril; première au Festival de Venise, nouveaux territoires *''Quem És Tu?'' (2001) ,

, official selection, competition; Mimo Rotella Award for Best Artistic Contribution in

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

*''As Mãos e as Pedras'' (2001, Digital Video, 12’) , Opening Film of Porto 2001,

*''A Mulher que Acreditava ser Presidente dos Estados Unidos da América'' (2003, ''The Woman Who Believed She Was President of the United States'') , Premiere in

, Quinzaine dés Réalisateurs, opening film *''A Luz na Ria Formosa'' (2005, Documentário, Digital Video, 50’) , Festival DocLisboa and selected officially in Turin Film Festival, Cinema de Reel, Paris, Vienna, Áustria and Festival di Popolo, Florence *''O Fatalista'' (2005, ''The Fatalist'') , Premiere in

, official selection, competition;

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

, Sevilha, Mostra de São Paulo, etc. *''A Baleia Branca, Uma Ideia de Deus'' (2006, Documentary, 50’, Digital Video) , On RTP demand to the worldwide theatre play day to the show Moby Dick, in Municipal Theatre of São Luiz *''A Terra Antes do Céu'' (2007, Documentary, 50’, Digital Video) , On demand of Direcção Geral de Cultura do Norte to the commemorations of the birth's century of Miguel Torga, a great poet and storyteller of the Portuguese twentieth century *'' Corrupção'' (2007, ''Corruption'') , This film was not signed by João Botelho, which was motivated by a dispute with the producer *'' A Corte do Norte'' (2009, '' The Northern Land'') , Premiere in

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, NYFF i ...

, Special Mention in Festival Internazionale del Film Di Roma, Italy *''Filme do Desassossego'' (2010), based on The Book of Disquiet, by Bernado Soares, a semi-heteronym by Fernando Pessoa *'' Os Maias - Cenas da Vida Romântica'' (2014), based on the novel Os Maias by Eça de Queirós *'' Peregrinação'' (2017), based on the novel Peregrinação by

Fernão Mendes Pinto Fernão Mendes Pinto (; 1509 – 8 July 1583) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese explorer and writer. His voyages are recorded in ''Pilgrimage'' (), his autobiographical memoir, which was published posthumously in 1614. The historical accura ...

*'' O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis'' (2020), based on the novel O Ano da Morte de Ricardo Reis by

José Saramago José de Sousa Saramago (; 16 November 1922 – 18 June 2010) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese writer. He was the recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony ith which ...

*''O Jovem Cunhal'' (2022) *''Um Filme em Forma de Assim">O Jovem Cunhal">ith which ...

Early years

Awards

Special participations in festivals

Filmography

References

External links