
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.
Acting (30 movies)

The Good Cinema
2021

O Brasil de Darcy Ribeiro
2014

Sambando nas Brasas, Morô?
2007

Brazil in Cannes
1971

Glauber Rocha - The Movie, Brazil's Labyrinth
2003

Que Viva Glauber!
1991

Improvised and Purposeful: Cinema Novo
1967

How to Die in Cinema
2002

Red Mandacaru
1961

At the Edge of the Earth
2002

Memórias do Grupo Opinião
2019

Já que Ninguém me Tira Para Dançar
2021

Nelson Pereira dos Santos – A Life of Cinema
2023

Cordilheiras no Mar: A Fúria do Fogo Bárbaro
2015

Glauber Rocha em Defesa do Cinema Brasileiro
2011

Cinema Novo
2016

Alex Viany - Um Documentário em Vídeo
1989

Dib
1997

Nelson Filma
1971

Garden of War
1969

Critic
2008

For All - O Trampolim da Vitória
1998

Brazilian Cinema in the 20th Century
2017

Que Filme 'Tu Vai' Fazer?
1991

Referências
2006

Nelson Filma o Rio
2021

A Paz é Dourada
2008

Candango: Memoirs from a Festival
2020

Amuleto
2025

Oscar Niemeyer: Life is a Breath of Air
2007
Directing (32 movies)

Barren Lives
1963

Jornalismo e Independência
1972

The Amulet of Ogum
1974

How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman
1971

Who Is Beta?
1972

The Music According to Tom Jobim
2012

The Third Bank of the River
1994

Rio, 100 Degrees F°
1955

Hunger for Love
1968

The Alienist
1970

Rio, Northern Zone
1957

Golden Mouth
1963

El Justicero
1967

Memories of Prison
1984

Um Ladrão
1980

Tent of Miracles
1977

A Luz do Tom
2013

Red Mandacaru
1961
Meu Compadre, Zé Ketti
2001

Brasília 18%
2006

A Missa do Galo
1982

The Highway of Life
1980

Raízes do Brasil
2004
Português - A Língua do Brasil
2007

Jubiabá
1987

Cinema de Lágrimas
1995

Fala Brasília
1966
Casa Grande & Senzala
2001

Insônia
1982

A Seventy-Four Year-Old Fellow
1964

Uma Mensagem de Chico Xavier
1972
Juventude
1949
| Title | Year | Job | 
|---|---|---|
| Rio, 100 Degrees F° | 1955 | Screenplay | 
| Rio, Northern Zone | 1957 | Screenplay | 
| O Grande Momento | 1958 | Producer | 
| Red Mandacaru | 1961 | Writer | 
| Red Mandacaru | 1961 | Producer | 
| Golden Mouth | 1963 | Writer | 
| Barren Lives | 1963 | Screenplay | 
| A Seventy-Four Year-Old Fellow | 1964 | Writer | 
| A Public Opinion | 1967 | Producer | 
| El Justicero | 1967 | Producer | 
| El Justicero | 1967 | Writer | 
| Hunger for Love | 1968 | Writer | 
| The Alienist | 1970 | Screenplay | 
| How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman | 1971 | Writer | 
| Who Is Beta? | 1972 | Writer | 
| The Amulet of Ogum | 1974 | Producer | 
| The Amulet of Ogum | 1974 | Writer | 
| As Aventuras Amorosas de um Padeiro | 1975 | Producer | 
| Tent of Miracles | 1977 | Writer | 
| A Missa do Galo | 1982 | Writer | 
| Insônia | 1982 | Writer | 
| Memories of Prison | 1984 | Producer | 
| Memories of Prison | 1984 | Writer | 
| Jubiabá | 1987 | Executive Producer | 
| Jubiabá | 1987 | Writer | 
| Sonhei com Você | 1988 | Producer | 
| The Third Bank of the River | 1994 | Screenplay | 
| Cinema de Lágrimas | 1995 | Screenplay | 
| Brasília 18% | 2006 | Writer | 
| The Music According to Tom Jobim | 2012 | Screenplay |