Early life

"A great tragedy for the family. For a long time, it was a taboo. No one mentioned it. I was four when it happened, but I still remember him."

Meirelles about his brother's death.

Meirelles' father, José de Souza Meirelles, is a gastroenterologist who travelled regularly to Asia and North America (among other regions of the world), which gave Fernando the opportunity for contact with different cultures and places. His mother, Sônia Junqueira Ferreira Meirelles, is the daughter of farmers and worked with landscape architecture and interior design for a long time. Fernando is the second youngest of four children. He saw his older brother, José Marcos, die in a car-bike accident when he was only 4 years old. His two sisters, Márcia and Silvinha, graduated in theater and psychology, respectively. Fernando grew up in Alto dos Pinheiros, district of the West Zone of São Paulo, and spent every vacation on the farms of relatives from both sides of his family. "Even I have a farm. I don't know why I bought it.", he says.

His first experience with cinema was with his father, who often directed 8 mm films during his job at the university. He produced mostly western and thriller parodies, using his relatives and friends as actors. At 11, in 1967, Fernando spent a year in the United States in California, where he had contact with the hippie movement, which impressed him. At 13, with a borrowed Super 8 camera, Meirelles started producing small films, inspired by Norman McLaren's animations.

Career

He studied at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of São Paulo during the 1980s. His graduation work was done in the form of a film, instead of the traditional designs of the other students: he went to Japan and bought professional video equipment to do the job. He presented it and graduated with the minimum acceptable grade.

While studying architecture at the University of São Paulo, Meirelles became involved in experimental film-making. After several years in independent television, he became an advertisement film director. He is still one of the partners of O2 Filmes, the biggest Brazilian advertisement firm, which has produced City of God, Domésticas (Maids) and Viva Voz.

Along with four friends (Paul Morelli, Marcelo Machado, Dário Vizeu and Bob Salatini), Meirelles began his career with experimental films. Eventually, they formed an independent production company Olhar Eletrônico. Subsequently, new friends joined the group: Renato Barbiere, Agilson Araujo, Toniko and Marcelo Tas. In 1982 the company aired TV programs on current affairs, as well as the children series Castelo Rá-Tim-Bum (Ra-Tim-Bum Castle), with 180 episodes. In addition to obtaining high ratings, they also introduced a refreshing humorous informality in news reporting.

By the end of the 1980s, he became increasingly interested on the advertising market. In 1990, Meirelles and friends closed down Olhar Eletrônico, opening an advertising business, O2 Films. One decade was enough for him to become one of the most important and sought-after advertising producers.

In 1997, Meirelles read the book Paulo Lins's City of God. He decided to adapt it to film, which was done in 2002, and decided that the actors in it would be selected among the inhabitants of slums. In a final triage, from 400 children, they selected 200, with whom they worked for the shooting of the film. The filming was done with a professional crew. The film was a national and international success.

In 2004, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for City of God. Also, at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, the movie received four nominations: Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.

With the recognition, he was offered a job in Hollywood. With The Constant Gardener, he again received critical acclaim, receiving several nominations, including for four Academy Awards and the Golden Globe Award for Best Director. Rachel Weisz went on to win the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. Meirelles insisted that the soundtrack be based on the music of African countries, and most of the filming was done in Kenya.

In 2007, he began shooting Blindness, a film adaptation of Nobel-prize winner José Saramago's book, Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira. The film, which was released in 2008, was the opening film of the Cannes Film Festival.

Works

Filmography

Year	English title	Original title
1998	O Menino Maluquinho 2	O Menino Maluquinho 2
2001	Maids	Domésticas
2002	City of God	Cidade de Deus
2005	The Constant Gardener	O Jardineiro Fiel
2008	Blindness	Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira
2011	360
2011	Brasil Animado (voice)
2012	Elena (executive producer)
2014	Rio, I Love You	Rio, Eu Te Amo

Television

Year	Title	Issuer	Notes
1983	Ernesto Varela, o Repórter	Rede Globo
1989	Castelo Rá-Tim-Bum	TV Cultura
2013	A Verdade de Cada Um	National Geographic Channel	Producer
2013	Os Experientes	Rede Globo
2015	Felizes para Sempre?	Rede Globo	Director

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2002	Cinema Brazil Grand Prize	Best Screenplay	Maids	Nominated
2003	BAFTA Awards	Best Film Not in the English Language	City of God	Nominated
2003	Cinema Brazil Grand Prize	Best Film	City of God	Won
2004	Academy Awards	Best Director	City of God	Nominated
2006	Golden Globe Awards	Best Director	The Constant Gardener	Nominated
2006	BAFTA Awards	Best British Film	The Constant Gardener	Nominated
2006	BAFTA Awards	Best Direction	The Constant Gardener	Nominated
2008	Cannes Film Festival	Palme d'Or	Blindness	Nominated
2009	Cinema Brazil Grand Prize	Best Film	Blindness	Nominated
2012	ACIE Awards	Special Tribute	N/A	Won

[ Source: Wikipedia ]