Formed the independent production company, Olhar Eletrônico with four friends

Started making experimental videos and went on to producing TV programs for Brazilian television

Made a name for himself as a successful commercial director in Brazil

Opened the O2 Film company, which today is Latin America's largest advertisement firm

First feature was the family film "O Menino Maluquinho 2 (The Nutty Boy 2)"

Second feature "Domésticas (Maids)" earned Meirelles Cinema Brazil Grand Prize

Co-directed the short film "Golden Gate" aka "Palace II" (Brazil)

Directed the film adaptation of Paulo Lins' novel, "City of God," which chronicles how drug dealers took control of Brazil's infamous slum; earned a Best Director Academy Award nomination

Directed the gritty miniseries "City of Men," which features many of the same actors from "City of God"

Helmed the adaptation of John Le Carré novel, "The Constant Gardener"starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz (first film in English); earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director

Directed "Blindness," the film version of the Nobel-prize winner José Saramago's book Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira, starring Julianne Moore