Nelson Pereira dos Santos

Biography

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 Brazilian Academy of Letters, a position he held until his death in 2018.

Known For

Cinema Novo

Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

Nelson Filma

Que Viva Glauber!

Nelson Pereira dos Santos – A Life of Cinema

Self (archive footage)

Glauber Rocha - The Movie, Brazil's Labyrinth

Self

Cordilheiras no Mar: A Fúria do Fogo Bárbaro

Self

Filmography

Year	Movie	Role
2025	Amuleto
2023	Nelson Pereira dos Santos – A Life of Cinema	Self (archive footage)
2021	The Good Cinema	Self
2021	Já que Ninguém me Tira Para Dançar	Self
2021	Nelson Filma o Rio	Self (archive footage)
2020	Candango: Memoirs from a Festival	Self (archive footage)
2019	Memórias do Grupo Opinião	Self (archive footage)
2018	A música que meu pai gostava
2017	Brazilian Cinema in the 20th Century	Self
2016	Cinema Novo	Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
2015	Tudo Por Amor ao Cinema	Self
2015	Cordilheiras no Mar: A Fúria do Fogo Bárbaro	Self
2014	O Brasil de Darcy Ribeiro
2013	Sinais de Cinza, A Peleja de Olney Contra o Dragão da Maldade
2011	Glauber Rocha em Defesa do Cinema Brasileiro	Self (archive footage)
2008	Critic	Self
2008	A Paz é Dourada
2008	Jards Macalé - Um Morcego na Porta Principal	Self
2007	Sambando nas Brasas, Morô?	Self
2007	Português - A Língua do Brasil
2007	Oscar Niemeyer: Life is a Breath of Air	Self
2006	Referências	Self
2003	Glauber Rocha - The Movie, Brazil's Labyrinth	Self
2002	How to Die in Cinema	Himself
2002	At the Edge of the Earth	Self
1999	Uma Vida Dividida	Ele mesmo
1998	For All - O Trampolim da Vitória
1997	Dib	Self
1991	Que Viva Glauber!
1991	Que Filme 'Tu Vai' Fazer?
1989	Alex Viany - Um Documentário em Vídeo	Self
1984	Claves, 1: How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman	himself
1984	Claves, 2: We will return younger	himself
1971	Brazil in Cannes
1971	Nelson Filma
1969	Garden of War
1967	Improvised and Purposeful: Cinema Novo	Self
1961	Red Mandacaru	Augusto

Year	TV Show	Role