José Eduardo Belmonte

José Eduardo Belmonte has directed films since 1997, when the short 5 Filmes Estrangeiros won Best Film at the Brasília Film Festival and a Special Jury Prize in Gramado. In 1999 he directed Tepê, awarded at both the same festivals as well as in Vitória. In 2003 he directed his first feature, Subterrâneos, followed by A Concepção in 2005 and Meu Mundo em Perigo in 2007. In 2008 he directed Se Nada Mais Der Certo, awarded Best Film, Best Actress and Best Screenplay at the Rio Film Festival, produced by Cibele Amaral. In 2012 he directed Billi Pig and O Gorila, his first thriller. In 2014 he directed the crime action film Alemão, which drew over a million viewers to theaters and earned an International Emmy nomination, later spawning the 2016 series of the same name and the 2022 feature Alemão 2. He became artistic director at TV Globo in 2016 and directed the series Carcereiros, awarded Best International Drama Series at the Cannes MIPDrama Screenings, later adapted into the feature Carcereiros, O Filme, in 2019. He also directed the series O Hipnotizador for HBO, the comedy Entre Idas e Vindas in 2016, O Auto da Boa Mentira in 2021, As Verdades and O Pastor e o Guerrilheiro, both in 2022, and Uma Família Feliz in 2024. In 2025 he released the feature Quase Deserto, with the feature Aurora set to premiere in 2026. On this latest film, he described his own work as an attempt to show that no one walks alone toward the future, since tomorrow can only be built on empathy. Throughout his career, he became known for a working method with actors nicknamed mala pequena, focused on the essence of the script and closeness with the cast.