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Daniela Thomas
View on WikipediaDaniela Thomas (born 1959) is a Brazilian film director, screenwriter and editor.
Key Information
Early life
[edit]In 1959, Thomas was born as Daniela Gontijo Alves Pinto in Brazil. Thomas' father is Ziraldo Alves Pinto, a cartoonist. Thomas' brother is Antonio Pinto.
Career
[edit]In 1994, Thomas co-directed her first feature film, Terra Estrangeira aka Foreign Land, alongside Walter Salles. Thomas is also its screenwriter and production designer.[1] In 1998, Thomas debuted as a theatre director with her version of The Seagull by Anton Chekhov, starring Fernanda Montenegro and assisted by Luiz Päetow.[2] In 2007, again with Salles, Thomas directed Linha de Passe, the film which gave Sandra Corveloni a Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Thomas was also one of two creative directors for Rio's contribution to the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.
Thomas' film Vazante premiered at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.[3]
Filmography
[edit]As a director
[edit]- 1995 - Terra Estrangeira (a.k.a. Foreign Land)[1]
- 1998 - O Primeiro Dia (a.k.a. Midnight) [4]
- 1998 - Somos Todos Filhos da Terra
- 2002 - Armas e Paz
- 2002 - Castanha e caju contra o encouraçado Titanic (short film)
- 2006 - Paris, je t'aime (segment "Loin du 16ème")
- 2007 - Linha de Passe
- 2009 - Sunstroke (Insolação)
- 2017 - Vazante [5][6]
As a writer
[edit]- 1995 - Terra Estrangeira
- 1998 - Menino Maluquinho 2: A Aventura
- 1998 - O Primeiro Dia
- 2001 - Abril Despedaçado
- 2006 - Paris, je t'aime (segment "Loin du 16ème")
- 2007 - Linha de Passe
- 2017 - Vazante
Awards
[edit]- 2000 Winner of Silver Ariel Award for Midnight (1998).[7]
- 2000 Winner of Best Director of Cinema Brazil Grand Prize for Midnight (1998).[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Foreign Land (1995) (as director, screenwriter, and production designer)". allmovie.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ "Da Gaivota". itaucultural. Archived from the original on 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
- ^ "Panorama 2017 Programme Complete: Powerful European Auteur Cinema / Three Surprising Indie Gems from China and Hong Kong / Brazil Well-Represented with Five Films". Berlinale. 25 January 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ "Midnight (1998)". IMDb. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ "Vazante". metacritic.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ Dargis, Manohla (January 10, 2018). "Review: Vazante Revisites Brazil's History in Black and White". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ^ a b "Midnight (1998) -Awards". IMDb. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
External links
[edit]Daniela Thomas
View on GrokipediaEarly life
Family background
Daniela Thomas was born in 1959 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. [1] Her full name is Daniela Gontijo Alves Pinto, and she is the daughter of Ziraldo Alves Pinto, a renowned Brazilian cartoonist, journalist, and writer best known for his influential work in comics and children's literature. [4] [5] She grew up in an artistic family prominent in Brazilian arts and media, with siblings including her brother Antonio Pinto, a composer recognized for his film scores and a Golden Globe Award nomination, and her sister Fabrízia Alves Pinto. [4]Early theater work
Daniela Thomas began her professional career in theater as a set designer. Her first credited work was creating the set design for Samuel Beckett’s All Strange Away at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York in 1983. [6] In 1985, she relocated to Brazil and quickly established herself in the theater scene, where she created set designs, costumes, and lighting for major Brazilian theater productions. [6] Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, she worked as a playwright and in various other capacities as a theater professional in Brazil. [6]Career
Transition to film and debut
Daniela Thomas transitioned from a long-established career in theater and opera set design to feature filmmaking with her debut film Foreign Land (Terra Estrangeira), which she co-directed with Walter Salles in 1995. [7] Having designed sets for over a hundred theater and opera productions across Brazil, Europe, and the United States, including award-winning work recognized with the Golden Triga at the Prague Quadrennial, her expertise in visual staging provided a natural foundation for her contributions to cinema as production designer. [7] On Foreign Land, she not only co-directed but also co-wrote the screenplay with Salles and Marcos Bernstein (with additional dialogue by Millor Fernandes) while serving as the film's art director/production designer. [8] [7] The film premiered in the Open Zone section of the San Sebastian Film Festival on September 16, 1995, marking her entry into feature filmmaking and the beginning of her collaboration with Salles. [8] This debut highlighted her multifaceted role in the production and established her as a key figure in the emerging wave of Brazilian cinema during the mid-1990s. [8]Long-term collaboration with Walter Salles
Daniela Thomas has maintained a long-term creative partnership with Walter Salles, marked by shared directing and writing credits on several key Brazilian films. Their collaboration began with the co-direction of Terra Estrangeira (Foreign Land, 1995), a thriller that established their joint approach to narrative filmmaking. [9] They continued this partnership by co-directing and co-writing O Primeiro Dia (Midnight, 1998), a drama commissioned for the "2000, Seen By..." anthology series that explores themes of isolation and connection on the eve of the new millennium. [10] Thomas also provided additional dialogues for Salles' Abril Despedaçado (Behind the Sun, 2001), contributing to the screenplay of this adaptation of an Ismail Kadare novel set in rural Brazil. [11] Their most prominent joint project is Linha de Passe (2008), which they co-directed and co-wrote, depicting the interconnected lives of four half-brothers raised by a single mother in São Paulo amid social and economic challenges. [12] The film was selected for the main competition at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. [13] Sandra Corveloni won the Best Actress award at Cannes for her portrayal of the family's matriarch. [14] These collaborations underscore Thomas and Salles' shared authorship, combining rigorous social observation with intimate character studies in contemporary Brazilian cinema.Solo directing and other film projects
Daniela Thomas has undertaken a number of solo directing projects and contributions to multi-director films, marking an expansion from her earlier collaborative work with Walter Salles. [2] She directed the segment "Loin du 16ème" in the anthology feature Paris, je t'aime (2006). [15] In 2009, she co-directed the feature Insolação (also known as Sunstroke) with Felipe Hirsch. [1] Her debut as sole director of a feature film came with Vazante (2017), which premiered in the Panorama section of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. [2] The black-and-white historical drama, set in Brazil in 1821, follows a cattle herder and slave trader who returns home to discover his wife has died in childbirth, leading to complex interactions with enslaved people on his property and his subsequent marriage to his young niece. [2] Thomas next directed the feature O Banquete (2018). [1] She has also directed short films and additional segments in collective projects. [1]Theater directing and design
Daniela Thomas debuted as a theater director in 1998 with her adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull (Da Gaivota), starring Fernanda Montenegro. [16] She also handled scenography for the production, collaborating with Marcelo Larrea on sets and contributing to costumes alongside Veronica Julian and Flavia. [17] This marked her transition from primarily design-focused theater work to directing, while continuing her multifaceted role in stage productions. Thomas has maintained ongoing involvement in Brazilian theater as a director, playwright, set designer, costume designer, and lighting designer. [7] Through her interdisciplinary studio T+T Projetos, co-led with architect and set designer Felipe Tassara since the early years of their collaboration, she has created set designs for numerous opera and theater productions over more than three decades. [18] Her body of work includes set designs for over 100 theater and opera productions across Brazil, Europe, and the United States. [7] She received the prestigious Golden Triga award at the Prague Quadrennial of Stage Design in recognition of her excellence in scenography. [18] A notable example of her later design work is the opera O Castelo do Barba-Azul, presented in 2006 with scenic direction by Felipe Hirsch and sets and costumes by Thomas, which utilized mirrors and projections to evoke the work's themes of secrecy and revelation. [19] This production earned the Prêmio Carlos Gomes for Best Opera Spectacle in 2008 and Best Set Design for Thomas. [20] Her contributions continue to bridge theater, opera, and exhibition design through collaborative and innovative stage environments.Large-scale event direction
Daniela Thomas co-directed the Opening Ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Summer Olympics alongside Fernando Meirelles and Andrucha Waddington. [21] She served as one of the three creative directors for the event, contributing to its overall artistic direction and vision. [22] Official Olympic documentation describes Fernando Meirelles as the primary director, supported by Thomas and Waddington as accompanying film directors. [23] In addition to her directorial role, Thomas handled the set design for the ceremony. [24] This large-scale public event marked a significant expansion of her work in visual storytelling beyond film and theater.[21]Personal life
Awards and nominations
Daniela Thomas has received multiple awards and nominations primarily for her work as a film director and screenwriter, often in collaboration with Walter Salles. The following highlights some of the notable recognitions:-
'''Prêmio Guarani de Cinema Brasileiro'''
- 1996: Best Director – Foreign Land (won)[25]
- 1996: Best Screenplay – Foreign Land (won)[25]
- 2009: Best Original Screenplay – Linha de Passe (won)[25]
-
'''Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro'''
- 2000: Best Director – O Primeiro Dia (won)
- 2000: Best Original Screenplay – O Primeiro Dia (won)
-
'''Ariel Award (Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences)'''
- 2000: Best Latin-American Film – O Primeiro Dia (won)
-
'''Cannes Film Festival'''
- 2008: Palme d'Or (nominated) – Linha de Passe (co-directed with Walter Salles)[3]
- Other recognitions include additional wins at festivals such as SESC Film Festival and APCA Awards for films like Foreign Land and Linha de Passe, as well as nominations for Vazante (2017) in categories like Best Director at the Grande Prêmio do Cinema Brasileiro.[25]
