João Miguel

Acting

João Miguel

Born 1970-01-01 · Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

João Miguel Serrano Leonelli, better known simply as João Miguel (Salvador, January 1, 1970), is a Brazilian actor, screenwriter and director, son of politician Domingos Leonelli and artist Magali Serrano. Known for his performances in film, television and theater, he has received numerous awards including three Grande Otelos, one Kikito, one ACIE, three Guaranis, one Shell and one APCA.

Acting credits

No artwork available
2.2

Élvio and Eric live alone in a small apartment without talking to anyone else. The relationship between the two deteriorates until one day, mysteriously, a periscope appears in the room.

Periscópio

2015

Beyond the Universe poster
7.9

While waiting for a kidney transplant, a young pianist finds an unexpected connection with her doctor — and the courage to fulfill her musical dreams.

Beyond the Universe

2022

Hotel Atlântico poster
7.1

A road movie that follows a solitary man as he sets of on a journey to the south of Brazil. The strange characters and absurd situations he encounters along the way present an extraordinary portrait of human relations.

Hotel Atlântico

2009

Estômago: A Gastronomic Story poster
7.9

In a dog-eat-dog world, Raimundo Nonato has found an alternative way to move ahead: he cooks. No matter what social strata this deceptively innocent young man inhabits, he hones his skills and sharpens his knives—and then he falls in love. Jorge's nimble comic fable provides a smartly constructed gastronomic allegory for ambition and survival.

Estômago: A Gastronomic Story

2008

Eden poster
6.7

Rio de Janeiro, 2012. 30 year-old Karine, 8 months pregnant, loses her husband in a senseless murder. She and her brother almost die, but are saved by Pastor Naldo, an evangelical pastor from the Church of Eden. Karine carries within her the conflict of salvation via the church or via the birth of her child.

Eden

2012

Lower City poster
6.5

Best friends Deco and Naldinho co-own a cargo boat in Brazil's Salvador da Bahia. They give a ride to a sultry prostitute named Karinna, and soon both men fall prey to her considerable sexual charms, pushing the bounds of their friendship to the limit.

Lower City

2005

Pacarrete poster
7.8

Russas, a small town in northeastern Brazil, is the home of Pacarrete, a grumpy retired dance teacher who dreams of getting a big shot and starring at a dance spectacle for the whole town to see. She's close to fulfilling that dream, but not without overcoming a few impediments along the way.

Pacarrete

2019

Oblivious Memory poster
7.6

Carlos is a man doomed by restless memories, that meets with himself, in a time warp. Young Carlos faces the forgetfulness of old Carlos, who doesn't recognize his own appearance. They get a package. But the package seems odd. The knot that ties, the smell, the handwriting on the envelope: this could only be sent by his father, Ernesto, who has been dead for many years. A father who always created unusual situations. In this time warp, Carlos is split in two: one Carlos remembers and the other forgets the moments he spent with his father.

Oblivious Memory

2018

Love for Sale poster
7.3

In northern Brazil, Hermila patiently waits for her husband. However, he has abandoned her. Sexy, restless and resolute, she raffles off "a night in paradise" with herself. This beautifully-shot portrait doesn't shy away from the burdens of a young scarred woman, but it also celebrates her courage to live according to her own rules.

Love for Sale

2006

Ex-It poster
3.8

Freely inspired by the work Catatau, by Paulo Leminski, the plot begins with the historical hypothesis imagined by the poet from Curitiba: “What if René Descartes had come to Brazil with Maurício de Nassau?” The film materializes this hypothesis and joins the father of modern philosophy in his journey through the tropics. Under the effect of hallucinatory herbs, he investigates questions revolving around geometry and optics in the face of an absolutely strange world. Known for his famous sentence “I think, therefore I am”, Descartes faces his doubt towards phenomena reason doesn’t explain. René, Renatus, Re born.

Ex-It

2011

Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures poster
6.9

1942, in the middle of Northeastern Brazil, two very different men meet along the road: Johan, an aspirin salesman avoiding the German draft, and Ranulpho, a rural Brazilian seeking escape from the drought.

Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures

2005

Bonitinha, Mas Ordinária poster
4.6

Edgard works as a subordinate in the company of millionaire Werneck and is in love with Ritinha, a simple woman who works as a teacher to support her mother and her three sisters. One day, Peixoto, Werneck's son-in-law, makes him a proposal to marry Maria, the boss's daughter. The reason is that Maria was abused and now is being forced to marry by her family. Edgard hesitates first but accepts the offer. From then on he enters into a great doubt: should he deposit the check and marry Maria or stay with Ritinha, his great love?

Bonitinha, Mas Ordinária

2013

To Kill the Beast poster
6.0

Emilia arrives at her Aunt Ines’ hostel at the Argentina-Brazil border looking for her long lost brother. In this luxuriant jungle, a dangerous beast believed to be the spirit of an evil man taking the form of different animals seems to be roaming around. On a journey to sexual awakening, Emilia will have to confront her past in order to kill the beast.

To Kill the Beast

2021

I Remember poster
6.3

The memories of Guiga, from early childhood to young adulthood: his family, relatives, friends, fears, dreams and reality in a still provincial city of Salvador, Bahia, from the 50s to the 70s.

I Remember

2006

Anna Mariani - Photographic Notes poster
5.0

The paths that the artist traveled to create two essays that are landmarks of contemporary Brazilian photography.

Anna Mariani - Photographic Notes

2024

Ballad of Return poster
6.6

One day, Eduardo arrives at his house and discovers that Julia, his wife, tried to commit suicide. She left her husband and two children without saying goodbye. After some time, she comes back home. He tries everything to set her straight, but the impossibility of knowing her fully grieves him. The shadow of the suicide and the inevitable ghost of a new chance hover over their heads. Eduardo insists on understanding his wife, but an increasing jealousy and an unexpected discovery of her past torture him. He does not realize that, most of the time, the search for control easily becomes an obsession.

Ballad of Return

2016

No artwork available
NR

Short film based on the story of feature-length film "Estômago"

Ervas

2007

Estomago 2: The Cookfather poster
6.9

Sequel to the award-winning 2007 film, Stomach 2 tells the tasty and bloody dispute between a faction leader and an Italian boss for control of the prison where they are held and the privilege of being served by the talented cook Raimundo Nonato

Estomago 2: The Cookfather

2024

The Time and Turn of Augusto Matraga poster
7.7

Based on Guimarães Rosa's (classic Brazilian author) short story, the movie tells the story of Augusto Matraga, a bankrupt and violent farmer who lives above the Law in Minas Gerais' hinterland. During a difficult time, he finds himself in the middle of a trap that nearly kills him. Born again, Matraga resorts to faith and hard work in the pursuit of redemption. Years later, he arrives at the village reigned by the hinterland's ruler and his thugs. This new friendship will challenge his destiny. Inside Matraga, the Saint and the Warrior will duel until his time comes.

The Time and Turn of Augusto Matraga

2011

Gonzaga: From Father to Son poster
7.2

Luiz Gonzaga decides to change his destiny and leaves his childhood home for the big city to overcome a romance. When he arrives, he meets a woman he falls in love with, the Odaleia (Nanda Costa). After the birth of his son and his wife's health complications, he decides to return to the road to ensure a better future for his son. He has a friend in Rio de Janeiro and with him leaves the little one and heads to Brazil. He didn't imagine that this distance between them would develop into a complicated relationship, enhanced by the strong personalities of both. Based on conversations between father and son, this is the story of Luiz Gonzaga, a singer and accordion player known as Rei do Baião or Gonzagão.

Gonzaga: From Father to Son

2012

Once Upon a Time Veronica poster
5.8

Veronica, a young woman, lives in Recife, one of the most violent cities in Brazil. Her life is filled with fleeting love affairs and passing romances. As her father feels his death approaching, he asks a favor: that she finds true love before he passes away.

Once Upon a Time Veronica

2012

Sou Carnaval de São Salvador poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Sou Carnaval de São Salvador

2019

Extreme Happiness poster
4.4

Shortly after World War II, the city of Rio de Janeiro experiments a period of great cultural, political and economic effervescence, when all the dreams – or nearly all – seem possible. In this exciting scenery of transformation, Paulo discovers love, friendship and sex through his childhood and adolescence in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

Extreme Happiness

2010

Jardim das Folhas Sagradas poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Jardim das Folhas Sagradas

2011

Behind the camera