Francisco Pinhão Botelho, António Pinhão Botelho, and Joana Pinhão Botelho
João Manuel Relvas Leopoldo Botelho[1] (born 1949) is a
Portuguese film director.
He has directed and written the screenplays of numerous films. His films have won several awards. His works have been nominated for the
Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion.
Botelho was awarded the prestigious
Ordem do Infante D.Henrique (Grau Comendador), one of the highest Portuguese honors, by President
Jorge Sampaio on 10 June 2005.
Early years
Botelho was born in
Lamego, northern
Portugal. He enrolled in mechanical engineering at the
University of Coimbra and in cinema at the
Lisbon Theatre and Film School (Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema), in 1974, dropping out in both cases. He has worked as a graphic artist. His first cinematographic works were O Alto do Cobre and Um Projecto de Educação Popular, both in 1976.
Awards
In 1985, he won the Tucano de Ouro for Best Director at the Rio de Janeiro Film Festival for Um Adeus Português.
Nominated for the
Golden Globes, Portugal in 1999 for Best Director and Best Film for Tráfico
Honored with a tribute by the Festival Cinéma du Réel in Paris (France) in March 2006.
Honored with a tribute by the Festival Internacional du Film de
La Rochelle (France) in June and July 1999.
Filmography
The following films were directed by Botelho. For all except Um Projecto De Educação Popular, O Alto Do Cobre, No Dia Dos Meus Anos, 13 Filmes X 3, As Mãos E As Pedras, and Viagem Ao Coração Do Douro, A Terra Onde Nasci, he also wrote the screenplay.
O Alto do Cobre (1976, Short)
Um Projecto de Educação Popular (1976, Short)
Os Bonecos de Santo Aleixo (1977, Feature documentary)
Alexandre Rosa (1978) | Short with Jorge Alves da Silva – Premiere in Semaine des Cahiers – Paris, cinema Action République
A Portuguese Goodbye (1985, A Portuguese Farewell) | Premiere in Festival of London, Rio de Janeiro – Tucano de Ouro, New Film, New Directors, MOMA New York, Forum of Berlin
No Dia dos Meus Anos (1991, On My Birthday) | On demand of
RTP/ARTE sur les 4 éléments; premiere in Festival of Locarno, official selection, competition
Aqui na Terra (1993, Here on Earth) |
Venice Film Festival official selection, competition; film selected to the day of Europe, exhibition simultaneously in Germany, France and Portugal.
Tráfico (1998, Traffic) | Premiere in
Venice Film Festival, official selection, competition
Se a Memória Existe (1999, Digital Video, 30’) | – commande pour le 25eme anniversaire du 25 Avril; première au Festival de Venise, nouveaux territoires
Quem És Tu? (2001) |
Venice Film Festival, official selection, competition; Mimo Rotella Award for Best Artistic Contribution in
Venice Biennale
A Mulher que Acreditava ser Presidente dos Estados Unidos da América (2003, The Woman Who Believed She Was President of the United States) | Premiere in
Cannes Film Festival,
Quinzaine dés Réalisateurs, opening film
A Luz na Ria Formosa (2005, Documentário, Digital Video, 50’) | Festival DocLisboa and selected officially in Turin Film Festival, Cinema de Reel, Paris, Vienna, Áustria and Festival di Popolo, Florence
A Baleia Branca, Uma Ideia de Deus (2006, Documentary, 50’, Digital Video) | On
RTP demand to the worldwide theatre play day to the show Moby Dick, in Municipal Theatre of São Luiz
A Terra Antes do Céu (2007, Documentary, 50’, Digital Video) | On demand of Direcção Geral de Cultura do Norte to the commemorations of the birth's century of
Miguel Torga, a great poet and storyteller of the Portuguese twentieth century
Corrupção (2007, Corruption) | This film was not signed by João Botelho, which was motivated by a dispute with the producer