Walter Salles

Early life and education

Walter Moreira Salles Júnior was born on 12 April 1956, in Rio de Janeiro. Salles resided in both France and the United States throughout his youth, following his diplomat father, Walter Moreira Salles. At the age of 15, Salles returned to Brazil, then under the dictatorship of Emílio Garrastazu Médici.

Salles attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.

Career

Salles originally gained experience in film through non-fiction documentaries. He worked on documentaries for ten years before switching to fictional films.

His first notable film was Terra Estrangeira (Foreign Land), released in Brazil in 1995. Locally, it was widely acclaimed by film critics and a minor box-office hit, and it was selected by over 40 film festivals worldwide. In 1998, he released Central Station to widespread international acclaim and two Academy Awards nominations, for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Fernanda Montenegro) and Best Foreign Language Film. Salles won a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, becoming the first Brazilian to win a Golden Globe.

In 2001, Abril Despedaçado (Behind the Sun), based on a novel by Albanian author Ismail Kadare and starring Rodrigo Santoro, was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globe. Salles said: "... there was one book that resonated to the point where I couldn't forget it. And that was Broken April by Ismail Kadare. The book was handed to me by my younger brother, who said: 'If I know you well, this will touch you.' ... What really struck me was the opposition between the atavistic violence described in the book and the possibility for that violence to be overpowered by the discovery of poetry and literature and ultimately by brotherly love." Both films were produced by veteran Arthur Cohn, and had worldwide distribution.

In 2003, Salles was voted one of the 40 Best Directors in the World by The Guardian. His biggest international success has been * The Motorcycle Diaries*, a 2004 film about the life of young Ernesto Guevara, who later became known as Che Guevara. It was Salles's first foray as director of a film in a language other than his native Portuguese (Spanish, in this case) and quickly became a box-office hit in Latin America and Europe. He won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and François Chalais Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.[[File:Waltersalles.jpg|thumb|Salles in 2005|left]]In 2005, Salles released his first Hollywood film, Dark Water, a remake of the 2002 Japanese film of the same name. He also helped to produce the Argentine picture Sisters (Spanish: Hermanas), which was a major success. In 2006, Salles wrote and directed a segment in the French film Paris, je t'aime (French for "Paris, I love you") with Daniela Thomas. The film is a collection of 18 shorter segments made by different 21 directors and set in different arrondissements of Paris. Salles' segment called Loin du 16e (literally: Far from the 16th) and took place in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. In 2007, Salles took part in a similar project called To Each His Own Cinema (French: Chacun son cinéma) in the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival. He made a three-minute segment called A 8.944 km de Cannes (English: 5,557 miles from Cannes).

In 2008, Salles wrote and directed the film Linha de Passe, also with Thomas. It is a story about four brothers from a poor family who need to fight to follow their dreams. He was nominated for the Palme d'Or and Sandra Corveloni won the Best Actress award for her role in this film at 2008 Cannes Film Festival. In 2012, Salles released José Rivera's screenplay adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, with Francis Ford Coppola producing. The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2024, twelve years after his last feature film, Salles released I'm Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui), based on the book of the same name by Marcelo Rubens Paiva; the film tackles the arrest and disappearance of Rubens Paiva in 1971, Marcelo's father, during the military dictatorship in Brazil. The film was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 81st Venice International Film Festival and Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, where it won the Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama category for Fernanda Torres, becoming the first Brazilian actress to win the Golden Globe for acting. For I’m Still Here, at the 97th Academy Awards, Salles accepted the Oscar for Best International Feature Film on behalf of Brazil.

Personal life, views and beliefs

In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Salles signed an open letter published in Libération demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.

In February 2025, Salles stated during an interview to CNN that his movie I'm Still Here is a product of the Brazilian democracy, after the 2022 Brazilian general election and the 2023 Brasília attacks, and that he wouldn't have had the opportunity to film during the government of Jair Bolsonaro.

Fortune

As of January 5, 2025, he has an estimated net worth of $4.2 billion. He is the third richest filmmaker in the world, behind Steven Spielberg ($5.3 billion) and George Lucas ($5.2 billion).

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Television

Documentaries

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Walter Salles

In July 2022 Salles was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of letters by the University of Reading.

On October 18, 2025, Salles received the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Luminary Award “given to an artist whose singular contributions have expanded the creative possibilities of cinema.”

References

References

1. "Say How: S". [[National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped]].
2. Campbell, Christopher. (2016-08-09). "12 Brazilian Filmmakers You Need to Know".
3. Coletti, Caio. (2024-06-17). "15 diretores essenciais para entender o cinema brasileiro".
4. (2003-11-14). "The world's 40 best directors". The Guardian.
5. "The 97th Academy Awards (2025) Nominees". [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]].
6. Lucca, Bianca. (2025-01-06). "Herdeiro do Itaú Unibanco, Walter Salles é o 3º cineasta mais rico do mundo".
7. "Diretor de 'Ainda Estou Aqui' é o 3º cineasta mais rico do mundo; saiba de onde vem a fortuna".
8. (2007). "501 Movie Directors". Cassell Illustrated.
9. "Walter Salles".
10. Zeitchik, Steven. (2024-12-05). "Walter Salles' Return After a 12-Year Absence Is Worth the Wait".
11. (6 October 2015). "Walter Salles On How His Nomadic Childhood Made Him Love Cinema".
12. "Notable Alumni".
13. Andrew, Geoff. (2004-08-26). "Walter Salles". The Guardian.
14. Rohter, Larry. (6 March 2001). "ARTS ABROAD; Brazilians Love Their Wild West (in the Northeast)". The New York Times.
15. Kehr, Dave. (21 December 2001). "AT THE MOVIES". The New York Times.
16. (14 November 2003). "The world's 40 best directors". [[The Guardian]].
17. "G1 > Cinema - NOTÍCIAS - Walter Salles dedica seleção em Cannes à sua jovem equipe".
18. (2008-05-15). "Cannes Q&A: Walter Salles".
19. (5 September 2008). "Linha de Passe".
20. (2012). "2012 Official Selection".
21. (2012). "Cannes Film Festival 2012 line-up announced".
22. Amando, Rodrigo. (2023-06-18). "Começam as filmagens do longa "Ainda Estou Aqui", dirigido por Walter Salles".
23. Wiseman, Andreas. (28 May 2024). "Walter Salles' Directorial Comeback 'I'm Still Here' Sells To Sony Classics For North America & Raft Of International Territories Out Of Cannes Market".
24. Pinto, Flávio. "Globo de Ouro 2025: Fernanda Torres faz história e vence prêmio de Melhor Atriz".
25. (3 March 2025). "'I'm Still Here' Makes Oscar History as First Brazilian Film to Win International Feature Category".
26. (28 December 2023). "Gaza : des cinéastes du monde entier demandent un cessez-le-feu immédiat". [[Libération]].
27. Newman, Nick. (29 December 2023). "Claire Denis, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Christian Petzold, Apichatpong Weerasethakul & More Sign Demand for Ceasefire in Gaza".
28. (31 December 2023). "Directors of cinema sign petition for immediate ceasefire". [[The Jerusalem Post]].
29. "Walter Salles à CNN: "Ainda Estou Aqui" é produto da volta da democracia".
30. "Walther Moreira Salles Junior".
31. "Forbes Real Time Billionaires List - the World's Richest People".
32. (6 July 2022). "Director Walter Salles gets Honorary degree from Reading".
33. Chuba, Kirsten. (2025-10-19). "Star-Studded Academy Museum Gala, Honoring Bruce Springsteen and Bowen Yang, Raises Over $12M".