For a director more interested in following his creative intuition than calculating his career, Brazilian-born Walter Salles has won several awards and international acclaim, and earned a reputation as one of Brazil’s leading filmmakers. Born in Rio de Janeiro into a well-to-do family—his father was a prominent banker and diplomat—Salles lived in France and the United States before resettling in his native country. After a stretch as an award-winning documentarian in the 1980’s, Salles turned to feature films with “Exposure” (“A Grande Arte”, 1991), a thriller about a photographer avenging the death of a prostitute. Though he continued to make documentaries—mainly for European television—Salles began to thrive in the feature world, starting with his second effort, “Foreign Land” (“Terra Estrangeira”, 1995).

Co-directed with fellow Brazilian Daniela Thomas, “Foreign Land’ was a beautifully filmed drama set in Brazil during the economic crisis of 1990. The film toured the festival circuit—including Rotterdam, Vancouver and Sundance—and furthered Salles desire to tell stories about Brazil’s history of economic hardship. His next film, “Central Station” (1998), earned the director a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and a nomination for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Made with grants from the Sundance Institute among other sources, “Central Station” helped establish Salles as prominent member of a new wave of filmmakers emerging from Latin America—a group that included Alfonso Cuaron (“Y Tu Mama Tambien”), Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (“Amores Perros”), and Guillermo del Toro (“Cronos”).

Salles teamed up with co-director Thomas once again for “Midnight” (“O Primeiro Dia”, 1998), Brazil’s entry into ‘2000 Seen By…’, a series of millennium-themed films commissioned by French television. With “Behind the Sun” (2001), Salles enhanced his reputation as a prominent foreign director. Set in a remote Brazilian farming community in 1910, this drama about a young man caught in the middle of an age-old family feud earned nominations for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes and Academy Awards. Then in 2004, Salles directed “The Motorcycle Diaries”, a coming of age road film about a young medical student, Ernesto Guevera—who later became celebrated revolutionary Che Guevera—and his friend Alberto Granado, and their journey to discover the real South America. Five years in the making, Salles credited the Sundance Institute and executive producer Robert Redford for being crucial in getting the film made—studios weren’t interested in backing the film, not for political reasons, but for an apparent lack of structure and external conflict. The struggle to get “The Motorcycle Diaries” made paid off, as another Salles film earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Film. Meanwhile, Salles made his first foray into the Hollywood system with “Dark Water” (2005), a remake of the Japanese film by Hideo Nakata, starring Jennifer Connelly, John C. Reilly, and Tim Roth.