Fernando Meirelles facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fernando Meirelles
Fernando Meirelles at a film event in 2012
Born	Fernando Ferreira Meirelles (1955-11-09) 9 November 1955 (age 69) São Paulo, Brazil
Alma mater	University of São Paulo
Occupation	Film director producer screenwriter
Years active	1982–present
Spouse(s)	Cecilia Teivelis ​ (m. 1983)​
Children	2
Awards	List

Fernando Ferreira Meirelles (born 9 November 1955) is a famous Brazilian film director, producer, and writer. He is best known for directing the movie City of God, which came out in 2002. This film was loved by critics all over the world.

For City of God, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director. He also got a Golden Globe Award for Best Director nomination in 2005 for The Constant Gardener. This movie helped Rachel Weisz win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Fernando Meirelles also directed Blindness in 2008, which was based on a book by José Saramago. In 2011, he directed 360. More recently, in 2019, he directed The Two Popes for Netflix.

On television, Meirelles directed and produced the HBO series Joint Venture in Brazil. In 2024, he helped direct the crime series Sugar and the historical show The Sympathizer.

Early Life and First Films

Fernando Meirelles was born in São Paulo, Brazil. His father, José de Souza Meirelles, was a doctor who traveled a lot. This gave Fernando a chance to see many different cultures and places. His mother, Sônia Junqueira Ferreira, worked with designing gardens and homes.

Fernando is the second youngest of four children. He grew up in a part of São Paulo called Alto dos Pinheiros. He spent his holidays on his relatives' farms.

His first experience with making movies was with his father. His dad often made short films using an 8 mm film camera for his job at the university. These films were often funny versions of westerns and thrillers. His family and friends acted in them.

When Fernando was 11, in 1967, he spent a year in the United States in California. There, he saw the hippie movement, which made a big impression on him. At 13, he started making his own small films. He used a borrowed Super 8 camera and was inspired by animated films.

Starting a Career in Film

Fernando Meirelles studied at the University of São Paulo in the 1980s. He studied architecture, but his final project was a film instead of building designs. He went to Japan to buy special video equipment for it. He passed his course with the lowest acceptable grade.

While studying, Meirelles became very interested in making experimental films. After working in independent television for some years, he started directing films for advertisements. He is still a partner at O2 Filmes, a big advertising company in Brazil. This company also produced movies like City of God.

Meirelles and four friends started their careers by making experimental films. They later formed a company called Olhar Eletrônico. In 1982, this company made TV shows about current events. They also created a children's series called Castelo Rá-Tim-Bum, which had 180 episodes. These shows were very popular and brought a new, fun way of reporting news.

By the late 1980s, Fernando became more interested in making commercials. In 1990, he and his friends closed Olhar Eletrônico and opened O2 Films. Within ten years, he became one of the most important advertising producers.

Directing Famous Movies

In 1997, Meirelles read a book called City of God by Paulo Lins. He decided to turn it into a movie. He chose actors from the real slums where the story takes place. Out of 400 children, 200 were chosen to work on the film.

The movie was a huge success both in Brazil and around the world. In 2004, Fernando Meirelles was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for City of God. The film also received four nominations at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.

Because of this success, he was offered a job in Hollywood. He directed The Constant Gardener. This movie also received great reviews and many nominations, including four Academy Awards. Rachel Weisz won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role. Meirelles made sure the music for the film was from African countries. Most of the movie was filmed in Kenya.

In 2007, he started filming Blindness. This movie was based on a book by Nobel Prize winner José Saramago. The film was released in 2008 and was the opening film at the Cannes Film Festival.

Fernando Meirelles was also one of the creative directors for the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He worked with a very small budget for such a big event.

In the same year, he directed the drama film The Two Popes for Netflix. This movie starred famous actors Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce.

Personal Life

Fernando Meirelles is a Catholic.

Notable Works

Fernando Meirelles has directed many films and television shows. Here are some of his well-known works:

• Films:
  • Maids (2001)
  • City of God (2002)
  • The Constant Gardener (2005)
  • Blindness (2008)
  • 360 (2011)
  • The Two Popes (2019)
• Television:
  • Rá-Tim-Bum (1989) - He directed many episodes of this children's show.
  • Pico da Neblina (2019)
  • Sugar (2024)
  • The Sympathizer (2024)

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Fernando Meirelles para niños