Nelson Pereira dos Santos

Directing

Nelson Pereira dos Santos

Born — Died

1928-10-22 — 2018-04-12

Place of birth

São Paulo, Brazil

Known for

Directing

Credits

78 titles

Nelson Pereira dos Santos ComRB • OMC (São Paulo, October 22, 1928 — Rio de Janeiro, April 21, 2018) was a Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter. Having been one of the founders of the Cinema Novo movement, his production spans a period of 60 years in the history of Brazil. Considered one of the most important filmmakers in the country, he was strongly influenced by the works of the 1930s generation of Brazilian literary modernism, having adapted works by Graciliano Ramos and Jorge Amado for cinema. His film Vidas Secas, based on Graciliano's novel, is one of the most awarded Brazilian films of all time, being recognized as a masterpiece. In 2006, he was elected Immortal by the…

Known for

Já que Ninguém me Tira Para Dançar poster
8.0

Conducted from interviews with personalities who lived with Leila Diniz (1945-1972), the documentary is a record of an era and, above all, it rescues the participation in Brazilian culture of the actress who opened the way for the sexual revolution during the dark years of the dictatorship.

Já que Ninguém me Tira Para Dançar

2021

Brazilian Cinema in the 20th Century poster
NR

Two years of research and visits to collections, cinematheques and museums; almost seventy interviews that generated 30 hours of recorded material; more than two hundred scanned photos and more than one hundred films watched. In total, more than a thousand hours of work were needed to prepare Brazilian Cinema in the 20th Century. The work is a fascinating journey through all the cinematic cycles that Brazil lived, from the pioneering Belle Époque, through the great studios like Atlântica and Cinédia, Cinema Novo, the urban comedies of the 70's, until the resumption in the late 90's. The documentary is unique, it gives the floor to who really wrote and lived this story intensely.

Brazilian Cinema in the 20th Century

2017

How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman poster
6.1

In 1594 Brazil, a frenchman becomes a prisoner of the Tupinambás. While waiting to be executed, the foreigner learns the habits of the indigenous people and joins a woman who tries to help him escape.

How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman

1971

The Music According to Tom Jobim poster
7.0

Half a century ago, Brazilian composer and musician Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim (1927-1994) introduced bossa nova to a worldwide audience with "The Girl from Ipanema." This relaxed, cool, sensuous music blended jazz and samba. After recording an album of songs by his friend Jobim, Frank Sinatra is reported to have said, "I haven't sung so quietly since I had laryngitis." Naturally, "The Girl from Ipanema" and Frank Sinatra are featured in this musical collage of countless seamlessly edited excerpts of concert footage that cover decades of events all over the world: from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon, Paris, Copenhagen, Jerusalem, Tokyo, Montreal, New York and back to Rio.

The Music According to Tom Jobim

2012

Candango: Memoirs from a Festival poster
5.0

In 1965, a year after the military coup in Brazil, an oasis of freedom opened in the country's capital. The Brasília Film Festival: a landmark of cultural and political resistance. Its story is that of Brazilian cinema itself.

Candango: Memoirs from a Festival

2020

Critic poster
7.9

Seventy critics and filmmakers discuss cinema around the conflict between the artist and the observer, the creator and the critic. Between 1998 and 2007, Kléber Mendonça Filho recorded testimonies about this relationship in Brazil, the United States and Europe, based on his experience as a critic.

Critic

2008

Film credits

2020s · 6 titles

2010s · 9 titles

Brazilian Cinema in the 20th Century poster
NR

Two years of research and visits to collections, cinematheques and museums; almost seventy interviews that generated 30 hours of recorded material; more than two hundred scanned photos and more than one hundred films watched. In total, more than a thousand hours of work were needed to prepare Brazilian Cinema in the 20th Century. The work is a fascinating journey through all the cinematic cycles that Brazil lived, from the pioneering Belle Époque, through the great studios like Atlântica and Cinédia, Cinema Novo, the urban comedies of the 70's, until the resumption in the late 90's. The documentary is unique, it gives the floor to who really wrote and lived this story intensely.

Brazilian Cinema in the 20th Century

2017

Memórias do Grupo Opinião poster
NR

Follows the story of Opinião, a theatre group created in 1964 during the early Brazilian dictatorship period to oppose the government through artistic performances. Considered the first left-wing response to the dictatorship, the group gathered now famous Brazilian artists such as Nara Leão, Maria Bethânia, João do Vale and Millôr Fernandes.

Memórias do Grupo Opinião

2019

Tudo Por Amor ao Cinema poster
NR

A documentary on Cosme Alves Netto (1937-1996), former head of the Cinematheque of the Museum of Modern Arts at Rio de Janeiro.

Tudo Por Amor ao Cinema

2015

O Brasil de Darcy Ribeiro poster
NR

Documentary on the view, testimonies and times of Darcy Ribeiro, since military dictatorship.

O Brasil de Darcy Ribeiro

2014

No artwork available
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Sinais de Cinza, A Peleja de Olney Contra o Dragão da Maldade

2013

Cordilheiras no Mar: A Fúria do Fogo Bárbaro poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Cordilheiras no Mar: A Fúria do Fogo Bárbaro

2015

Glauber Rocha em Defesa do Cinema Brasileiro poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Glauber Rocha em Defesa do Cinema Brasileiro

2011

Cinema Novo poster
6.7

A deep investigation, in the way of a poetic essay, on one of the main Latin American movements in cinema, analyzed via the thoughts of its main authors, who invented, in the early 1960s, a new way of making movies in Brazil, with a political attitude, always near to people's problems, that combined art and revolution.

Cinema Novo

2016

No artwork available
NR

Nelson Pereira dos Santos talks about The Highway of Life (1980)

A música que meu pai gostava

2018

2000s · 10 titles

Critic poster
7.9

Seventy critics and filmmakers discuss cinema around the conflict between the artist and the observer, the creator and the critic. Between 1998 and 2007, Kléber Mendonça Filho recorded testimonies about this relationship in Brazil, the United States and Europe, based on his experience as a critic.

Critic

2008

At the Edge of the Earth poster
7.5

On 17 May 1931, the young director Mário Peixoto released his masterpiece "Limite" in a premiere in Capitólio Theater in Rio de Janeiro to astonished audiences bewildered by the impressive and poetic images. Considered by many viewers the best Brazilian movie ever made, this feature has never been released commercially. However, in a great paradox, Mário Peixoto has never made any other movie. The director Sérgio Machado pays a great tribute to the life and work Mário Peixoto a.k.a. Maçarico by his close friends with this documentary, using his diary; footages of "Limite", the never concluded "Onde a Terra Acaba" (1933) and the short "O Homem do Morcego" (1980); and interesting testimonies of Olga Breno, Ruy Solberg, Nelson Pereira dos Santos and Walter Salles among others.

At the Edge of the Earth

2002

Oscar Niemeyer: Life is a Breath of Air poster
6.9

A documentary made to coincide with Niemeyer's 100th birthday. The renowned architect talks about his long life, his inspirations, and his aspirations towards a just Brazil, and the ways he tried to help that along in his spectacular and beautiful buildings.

Oscar Niemeyer: Life is a Breath of Air

2007

Jards Macalé - Um Morcego na Porta Principal poster
NR

This film shines a light at the story of Jards Macalé, polemic artist and controversial character of Brazilian culture over the last four decades. Author of songs such as "Vapor Barato" and "Movimento dos Barcos", a partner in crime of poet Waly Salomão, guitar player and songwriter for Gal Costa and Caetano Veloso, actor and author of soundtracks in Nelson Pereira dos Santos' films, a personal friend of visual artists Lygia Clarke and Hélio Oiticica, but, first and foremost, someone who dreams of seeing the word "love" in the Brazilian flag.

Jards Macalé - Um Morcego na Porta Principal

2008

Glauber Rocha - The Movie, Brazil's Labyrinth poster
6.3

Documentary about Brazilian filmmaker Glauber Rocha, one of the most important names in the Cinema Novo, with interviews with some of his friends and colleagues.

Glauber Rocha - The Movie, Brazil's Labyrinth

2003

A Paz é Dourada poster
9.0

The film chronicles both the life and work of Brazilian author and engineer Euclides da Cunha and a failed attempt at directing his biopic in the 1980s and 1990s. Footage from the unfinished film is included alongside archive and documentary material.

A Paz é Dourada

2008

Sambando nas Brasas, Morô? poster
NR

The adventures of Pedro, a musician who is trying his luck in Rio de Janeiro, in the 1950's. He leaves his hometown Belo Horizonte to share a lodging with his brother Carlos in Rio. During one of his gigs, he meets Arlete, a singer in a vocal group and fall in love.

Sambando nas Brasas, Morô?

2007

No artwork available
NR

16 members from the Brazilian Academy of Letters share their views on the current situation of the portuguese language.

Português - A Língua do Brasil

2007

How to Die in Cinema poster
6.2

Memories of a parrot who participated in the filming of the classic Vidas Secas, in 1962, where it was featured along the puppy Baleia.

How to Die in Cinema

2002

Referências poster
NR

During a showing of rare Afro-Brazilian Cinema films at the Cinematheque of the Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro, actor/filmmaker Zózimo Bulbul gathered some of the most notorious Brazilian black directors to talk about their works, their lives and their perspectives on the future.

Referências

2006

1980s · 3 titles

Behind the camera

How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman poster
6.1

In 1594 Brazil, a frenchman becomes a prisoner of the Tupinambás. While waiting to be executed, the foreigner learns the habits of the indigenous people and joins a woman who tries to help him escape.

How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman

1971

How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman poster
6.1

In 1594 Brazil, a frenchman becomes a prisoner of the Tupinambás. While waiting to be executed, the foreigner learns the habits of the indigenous people and joins a woman who tries to help him escape.

How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman

1971

The Music According to Tom Jobim poster
7.0

Half a century ago, Brazilian composer and musician Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim (1927-1994) introduced bossa nova to a worldwide audience with "The Girl from Ipanema." This relaxed, cool, sensuous music blended jazz and samba. After recording an album of songs by his friend Jobim, Frank Sinatra is reported to have said, "I haven't sung so quietly since I had laryngitis." Naturally, "The Girl from Ipanema" and Frank Sinatra are featured in this musical collage of countless seamlessly edited excerpts of concert footage that cover decades of events all over the world: from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon, Paris, Copenhagen, Jerusalem, Tokyo, Montreal, New York and back to Rio.

The Music According to Tom Jobim

2012

The Music According to Tom Jobim poster
7.0

Half a century ago, Brazilian composer and musician Antonio Carlos "Tom" Jobim (1927-1994) introduced bossa nova to a worldwide audience with "The Girl from Ipanema." This relaxed, cool, sensuous music blended jazz and samba. After recording an album of songs by his friend Jobim, Frank Sinatra is reported to have said, "I haven't sung so quietly since I had laryngitis." Naturally, "The Girl from Ipanema" and Frank Sinatra are featured in this musical collage of countless seamlessly edited excerpts of concert footage that cover decades of events all over the world: from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon, Paris, Copenhagen, Jerusalem, Tokyo, Montreal, New York and back to Rio.

The Music According to Tom Jobim

2012

Barren Lives poster
7.4

A destitute family tries to escape the drought in the backlands of northeastern Brazil. Fabiano (Átila Iório), Sinhá Vitória (Maria Ribeiro), their two children and their dog Baleia wander aimlessly and almost hopelessly through the remote interior, surviving the forces of nature and the cruelty of men. An adaptation of the work by Graciliano Ramos.

Barren Lives

1963

Barren Lives poster
7.4

A destitute family tries to escape the drought in the backlands of northeastern Brazil. Fabiano (Átila Iório), Sinhá Vitória (Maria Ribeiro), their two children and their dog Baleia wander aimlessly and almost hopelessly through the remote interior, surviving the forces of nature and the cruelty of men. An adaptation of the work by Graciliano Ramos.

Barren Lives

1963

Memories of Prison poster
6.8

In the 1930s, novelist and politician Graciliano Ramos is accused of being a communist sympathizer. He is then arrested and sent to the Ilha Grande prison, where he experiences the disturbing treatment reserved for common prisoners.

Memories of Prison

1984

Memories of Prison poster
6.8

In the 1930s, novelist and politician Graciliano Ramos is accused of being a communist sympathizer. He is then arrested and sent to the Ilha Grande prison, where he experiences the disturbing treatment reserved for common prisoners.

Memories of Prison

1984

Memories of Prison poster
6.8

In the 1930s, novelist and politician Graciliano Ramos is accused of being a communist sympathizer. He is then arrested and sent to the Ilha Grande prison, where he experiences the disturbing treatment reserved for common prisoners.

Memories of Prison

1984

No artwork available
6.0

Short musical film paying a tribute to samba composer Zé Ketti, one of the greatest popular artists of Brazilian music. In a jam session, in the late composer's house in Inhaúma, a neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, a group of friends get together to play his music while a "feijoada" (typical Brazilian food with black beans)is being cooked in the kitchen. The samba-players, first-rate samba stars themselves, remember Ketti's great hits in a homage to the man who was best known as "a voz do morro" ("the hill's voice" - but hill as a metaphor for a place where poor people build their shacks in slums, in opposition to city, where middle-class people live in Rio). Among the guests, names of the traditional "samba-school" Portela and ex-partners. Also, the presence of a black hat on an empty chair, represents the composer himself, who died in 1999, after a life of many accomplishments in music, and appearance in three of Dos Santos's films: "Rio, 40 Graus", "Rio Zona Norte" and "Boca de Ouro".

Meu Compadre, Zé Ketti

2001

Brasília 18% poster
4.8

A star medical examiner is called to Brasília, the administrative capital of Brazil, to confirm the identity of a beautiful, young congressional aide's dead body. But his scientific rigor soon leads him to details of a multi-layered political scandal.

Brasília 18%

2006

Brasília 18% poster
4.8

A star medical examiner is called to Brasília, the administrative capital of Brazil, to confirm the identity of a beautiful, young congressional aide's dead body. But his scientific rigor soon leads him to details of a multi-layered political scandal.

Brasília 18%

2006

Golden Mouth poster
6.8

After a powerful outlaw dies, a reporter interviews his lover and gets three different stories about the legendary man.

Golden Mouth

1963

Golden Mouth poster
6.8

After a powerful outlaw dies, a reporter interviews his lover and gets three different stories about the legendary man.

Golden Mouth

1963

O Rio de Machado de Assis poster
NR

A short film commemorating the 400th anniversary of the city of Rio de Janeiro. The short film was sponsored by the Barsa Encyclopedia (launched in 1964) and the Jornal do Brasil newspaper. The text, narrated by Paulo Mendes Campos, was written by Machado de Assis himself.

O Rio de Machado de Assis

1965

Fala Brasília poster
NR

An amalgamation of accents and life experiences from different parts of Brazil reunited on the city of Brasília.

Fala Brasília

1966

A Missa do Galo poster
6.1

It's Christmas Eve and an aunt and her nephew have to deal with their platonic relationship.

A Missa do Galo

1982

A Missa do Galo poster
6.1

It's Christmas Eve and an aunt and her nephew have to deal with their platonic relationship.

A Missa do Galo

1982

Who Is Beta? poster
5.4

The critical success in France of How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman made possible dos Santos’ delirious science-fiction vision of free love in a post-apocalyptic wilderness besieged by flesh hungry zombies contaminated by an unnamed nuclear attack. Who is Beta? follows two statuesque survivors drawn irresistibly together only to be entranced by the arrival and sudden disappearance of a third, the bewitching raven haired Beta. With its cartoon-like depiction of extreme violence and desire, Who is Beta? offers a heady Pop-infused companion to Hunger for Love. Yet beneath its giddy play of surfaces, dos Santos' underappreciated film gradually reveals a darkly ambiguous metaphoric dimension. -Harvard Film Archive

Who Is Beta?

1972

Who Is Beta? poster
5.4

The critical success in France of How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman made possible dos Santos’ delirious science-fiction vision of free love in a post-apocalyptic wilderness besieged by flesh hungry zombies contaminated by an unnamed nuclear attack. Who is Beta? follows two statuesque survivors drawn irresistibly together only to be entranced by the arrival and sudden disappearance of a third, the bewitching raven haired Beta. With its cartoon-like depiction of extreme violence and desire, Who is Beta? offers a heady Pop-infused companion to Hunger for Love. Yet beneath its giddy play of surfaces, dos Santos' underappreciated film gradually reveals a darkly ambiguous metaphoric dimension. -Harvard Film Archive

Who Is Beta?

1972

The Highway of Life poster
7.7

The rise of real life country singers Milionário e José Rico from their humble beginnings until musical success.

The Highway of Life

1980

Insônia poster
9.0

A three-episode anthology film based on short stories by Brazilian writer Graciliano Ramos.

Insônia

1982

Insônia poster
9.0

A three-episode anthology film based on short stories by Brazilian writer Graciliano Ramos.

Insônia

1982

Jubiabá poster
5.8

Jubiabá is a French-Brazilian film based on the homonymous novel by Jorge Amado. The film tells the story of the interracial love between the daughter of a rich Commander and Antonio Balduíno, a rascal, fighter and famous lover from Salvador.

Jubiabá

1987

Jubiabá poster
5.8

Jubiabá is a French-Brazilian film based on the homonymous novel by Jorge Amado. The film tells the story of the interracial love between the daughter of a rich Commander and Antonio Balduíno, a rascal, fighter and famous lover from Salvador.

Jubiabá

1987

Rio, Northern Zone poster
8.2

A talented songwriter of sambas is forced to face the social injustices of the city around him.

Rio, Northern Zone

1957

Rio, Northern Zone poster
8.2

A talented songwriter of sambas is forced to face the social injustices of the city around him.

Rio, Northern Zone

1957

O côco do Macalé poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

O côco do Macalé

1982

A Seventy-Four Year-Old Fellow poster
NR

Documentary about the history of Jornal do Brasil, founded on April 14, 1891. In 1965, the Jornal do Brasil marked its innovative and active position, as recorded in the documentary "A Seventv-Four- Year-Old Fellow" by the filmmaker Nelson Pereira dos Santos, and the story itself was in charge of confirming. In the following years, the newspaper would witness the most remarkable events of the second half of the twentieth century in Brazil and in the world. It would applaud the democratic struggles and independence of peoples, support social demonstrations against oppression and justice at all levels. Tirelessly, he did not hesitate to report the truth of the facts, regardless of the circumstances in which they presented themselves.

A Seventy-Four Year-Old Fellow

1964

A Seventy-Four Year-Old Fellow poster
NR

Documentary about the history of Jornal do Brasil, founded on April 14, 1891. In 1965, the Jornal do Brasil marked its innovative and active position, as recorded in the documentary "A Seventv-Four- Year-Old Fellow" by the filmmaker Nelson Pereira dos Santos, and the story itself was in charge of confirming. In the following years, the newspaper would witness the most remarkable events of the second half of the twentieth century in Brazil and in the world. It would applaud the democratic struggles and independence of peoples, support social demonstrations against oppression and justice at all levels. Tirelessly, he did not hesitate to report the truth of the facts, regardless of the circumstances in which they presented themselves.

A Seventy-Four Year-Old Fellow

1964

The Third Bank of the River poster
6.2

After an extended period directing original screenplays, dos Santos returned to the creative engagement with literature that was the wellspring of his early masterpieces, offering a combinatory adaptation of five stories by the renowned Brazilian novelist João Guimarães Rosa. Openly embracing a mode of magical realism, dos Santos' celebrated film tells the story of a farming family defined by the absence of its father who abruptly abandoned his wife and children, sailing away down the river, including his son who continues to communicate with his father, speaking daily to him from the river bank. While offering an evocative vision of rural Brazil as a timeless land of mystery and solemnity, The Third Bank of the River is also bitingly satiric in the remarkable depiction of religious belief when the family moves to the city and its youngest member, a mesmerizing little girl, is revealed to be a kind of saint, capable of miraculous acts. -Harvard Film Archive

The Third Bank of the River

1994

The Third Bank of the River poster
6.2

After an extended period directing original screenplays, dos Santos returned to the creative engagement with literature that was the wellspring of his early masterpieces, offering a combinatory adaptation of five stories by the renowned Brazilian novelist João Guimarães Rosa. Openly embracing a mode of magical realism, dos Santos' celebrated film tells the story of a farming family defined by the absence of its father who abruptly abandoned his wife and children, sailing away down the river, including his son who continues to communicate with his father, speaking daily to him from the river bank. While offering an evocative vision of rural Brazil as a timeless land of mystery and solemnity, The Third Bank of the River is also bitingly satiric in the remarkable depiction of religious belief when the family moves to the city and its youngest member, a mesmerizing little girl, is revealed to be a kind of saint, capable of miraculous acts. -Harvard Film Archive

The Third Bank of the River

1994

No artwork available
NR

16 members from the Brazilian Academy of Letters share their views on the current situation of the portuguese language.

Português - A Língua do Brasil

2007

The Amulet of Ogum poster
6.4

An ubiquitous folk singer narrates the tale of a young boy, who apparently becomes immune to gunfire after his mother arranges for him to have an amulet bearing Ogum's blessings. As time goes by, he becomes a valuable member of a mobster's hit-team, but ends up joining a group of people who resist his original employers.

The Amulet of Ogum

1974

The Amulet of Ogum poster
6.4

An ubiquitous folk singer narrates the tale of a young boy, who apparently becomes immune to gunfire after his mother arranges for him to have an amulet bearing Ogum's blessings. As time goes by, he becomes a valuable member of a mobster's hit-team, but ends up joining a group of people who resist his original employers.

The Amulet of Ogum

1974

The Amulet of Ogum poster
6.4

An ubiquitous folk singer narrates the tale of a young boy, who apparently becomes immune to gunfire after his mother arranges for him to have an amulet bearing Ogum's blessings. As time goes by, he becomes a valuable member of a mobster's hit-team, but ends up joining a group of people who resist his original employers.

The Amulet of Ogum

1974

Sonhei com Você poster
9.0

Milionário and José Rico are robbed of their money and their fans' enthusiasm. But a female truck driver is out to help them.

Sonhei com Você

1988

Cinema of Tears poster
5.4

An aging Brazilian actor teams up with a film student on a trip to Mexico, in order to find out an unknown movie his mother allegedly watched before she committed suicide.

Cinema of Tears

1995

Cinema of Tears poster
5.4

An aging Brazilian actor teams up with a film student on a trip to Mexico, in order to find out an unknown movie his mother allegedly watched before she committed suicide.

Cinema of Tears

1995

As Aventuras Amorosas de um Padeiro poster
7.0

A newlywed woman, frustrated after her honeymoon, decides to search for lovers on the streets and ends up causing a conflict between her husband, a baker and a black artist.

As Aventuras Amorosas de um Padeiro

1975