
Acting
João Donato
Born — Died
1934-08-17 — 2023-07-17
Place of birth
Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil
Known for
Acting
Credits
19 titles
João Donato de Oliveira Neto (Rio Branco, August 17, 1934 – Rio de Janeiro, July 17, 2023) was a Brazilian pianist, accordionist, arranger, singer, and composer.
Known for
NRNo synopsis available yet.
O Som do Vinil
2007
6.6New York, 2010. Jeff Harris, a music journalist, sets out to uncover the truth about Francisco Tenório Júnior, a young Brazilian samba-jazz pianist who disappeared in Buenos Aires on March 18, 1976.
They Shot the Piano Player
2023
9.5Nara Leão revolutionized Brazilian music, broke prejudices, confronted the military dictatorship, opened paths for women. All this without changing the tone of her voice.
O Canto Livre de Nara Leão
2022
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Chico & Caetano
1986
NRThe series places Brazil and the world in the context of 1973 to show how fertile that period was for local music production. Each episode addresses a specific theme—such as military regime censorship, the rise of samba at the time, Brazilian rock, the importance of iconic album covers, production outside the Rio-São Paulo axis, and the renewal of bossa nova. To this end, the series invites musicians like Odair José, Charles Gavin, and Roberto Menescal, as well as journalists such as Silvio Essinger, Paulo Cesar de Araújo, and Renato Terra, to share behind-the-scenes details from that era. Each account is complemented by extensive research, featuring performances and interviews with artists who defined the year and remain fundamental to the history of Brazilian music.
MPB 73 – O Ano Da Reinvenção
2018
7.2A four-part biography on the life of the Brazilian singer Gal Costa, from her humble beginning singing in the streets of Salvador, where she became friends with many artists who would be other great names in Brazilian music in the following decades to her 50th career anniversary in 2015.
O Nome Dela é Gal
2017
Film credits
2020s · 4 titles
6.6New York, 2010. Jeff Harris, a music journalist, sets out to uncover the truth about Francisco Tenório Júnior, a young Brazilian samba-jazz pianist who disappeared in Buenos Aires on March 18, 1976.
They Shot the Piano Player
2023
NRWith a short and intense life, Dolores Duran left her name in the pantheon of great names in Brazilian music. Living in a time when women had to follow strict moral standards, Dolores had no doubts: she spent the night in bars and parties, drank, smoked and allowed herself to be free to relate to whoever she wanted, challenging the macho structure of the 1950s. With many archival footage and testimonials from friends, family and ex-boyfriends, the film tells the story of an important and little-remembered character.
Dolores Duran: O Coração da Noite
2023
7.0A prodigy of stringed instruments, a pioneer of Bossa Nova, a modernizing master of the guitar: Aníbal Augusto Sardinha, better known as Garoto (1915-1955), is one of the hidden pillars of Brazilian music. Woven by rare archival material, personal diaries and testimonies, this documentary reveals his influence and the artistic conflicts of an avant-garde artist in the golden age of Brazilian radio.
Garoto - Vivo Sonhando
2020
NRDuring the 1960s, between nightclubs in the South Zone and dances in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, a musical rhythm known as sambalanço emerged, mixing jazz, samba and Latin music.
Sambalanço - A Bossa Que Dança
2020
2010s · 5 titles
NRFeaturing images from concerts that marked the history of Brazilian music and interviews with major personalities, Nana Caymmi, one of the greatest artists of Brazilian popular music, has her story analyzed and revisited. The ex-wife of Gilberto Gil, muse of Milton Nascimento, and daughter of Dorival Caymmi, Nana is considered by many journalists to be "the singer of singers," and the leading names of the era attempt to explain why.
Rio Sonata: Nana Caymmi
2011
6.2Where are you, João Gilberto? sets out in the footsteps of German writer Marc Fischer who obsessively searched for the legendary founding father of Bossa Nova and last great musical legend of our time, Brazilian musician João Gilberto, who has not been seen in public for decades. Fischer described his journey in a book, Hobalala, but committed suicide one week before it was published. By taking up Marc Fischer's quest, following his steps one by one, thanks to all the clues he left us, we pursue João Gilberto to understand the history, the very soul and essence of Bossa Nova. But who can tell whether we will meet him or not?
Where Are You, João Gilberto?
2018
10.0Singer, composer, actor and painter, Dorival Caymmi was a multiple artist, but what they may not know is his pioneering work in introducing candomblé into Brazilian popular music. Recreating in a poetic way concepts present in Caymmi's work and life, the documentary revelation of the artist from his own lines, mined in old magazines.
Dorivando Saravá, o Preto Que Virou Mar
2019
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Eu, Meu Pai e Os Cariocas
2017
Sixty years ago the pianist and arranger Brazilian Joao Donato meets with friends musicians to play and turn those moments into historical performances. The habit began in the late 1940s, when the acriano Donato newly arrived to Rio. Born into a musical family, his father was a major, airplane pilot and mandolin, his mother liked to sing and brother planned to be a concert pianist, he decided to learn piano instrument closer to that which dominated the accordion. Hence to attend meetings at the home of Dick Farney in the early bossa nova was a leap.
Nasci Para Bailar - Havana/Rio
2011
2000s · 3 titles
7.0No translated
Acústico MTV: Marcelo D2
2004
7.5Documentary about the birth of bossa-nova, in Brazil, and the major stars of this musical style.
Coisa Mais Linda - Histórias e Casos da Bossa Nova
2005
The DVD originated in an unforgettable encounter of MPB (Braziliam Popular Music) icons in a show held in the theater of FECAP in São Paulo, Brazil. Names like Roberto Menescal, João Donato, Dori Caymmi, Monica Salamso, Zé Renato, his daughters Clara Moreno and Ana Martins, Leila Pinheiro and Francis Hime participated as Joyce's guests at the event, which coincides with the year in which the Bossa Nova turns 50 years of existence.
Joyce Live - Show of Fourth Years
2008
Series credits
NRNo synopsis available yet.
O Som do Vinil
2007
NRNo synopsis available yet.
O Som do Vinil
2007
9.5Nara Leão revolutionized Brazilian music, broke prejudices, confronted the military dictatorship, opened paths for women. All this without changing the tone of her voice.
O Canto Livre de Nara Leão
2022
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Chico & Caetano
1986
NRThe series places Brazil and the world in the context of 1973 to show how fertile that period was for local music production. Each episode addresses a specific theme—such as military regime censorship, the rise of samba at the time, Brazilian rock, the importance of iconic album covers, production outside the Rio-São Paulo axis, and the renewal of bossa nova. To this end, the series invites musicians like Odair José, Charles Gavin, and Roberto Menescal, as well as journalists such as Silvio Essinger, Paulo Cesar de Araújo, and Renato Terra, to share behind-the-scenes details from that era. Each account is complemented by extensive research, featuring performances and interviews with artists who defined the year and remain fundamental to the history of Brazilian music.
MPB 73 – O Ano Da Reinvenção
2018
7.2A four-part biography on the life of the Brazilian singer Gal Costa, from her humble beginning singing in the streets of Salvador, where she became friends with many artists who would be other great names in Brazilian music in the following decades to her 50th career anniversary in 2015.
O Nome Dela é Gal
2017

