Diretores

Bárbara Paz

Born in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in 1974. Graduated from the Escola de Teatro Macunaima and from Centro de Pesquisa Teatral (CPT), coordinated by the director Antunes Filho. Theater, cinema and television actress, she participated in plays such as Hell and Vênus em Visom, both directed by Hector Babenco. She also worked in the short Produto Descartável (2003), for which she was awarded best actress at Gramado Festival, and in the features Se Puder… Dirija (2013), Never Old to Meow (2014) and My Hindu Friend (2015, 39th Mostra). Bárbara directed the shorts Making of My Hindu Friend (2015, 39th Mostra) and Talk to Him (2018, 42nd Mostra). Her first feature film as a director, Babenco - Tell Me When I Die (2019, 43rd Mostra), won the award for best documentary at Venice International Film Festival.

Felipe Gómez Aparicio

Felipe Gomez Aparicio was born in 1977, in Buenos Aires, Argentina He earned his degree in film production at the Cinematographic Research Center (CIC). He has helmed commercials for many of the top production companies in the world, quickly becoming one of his country’s foremost ad directors and earning him recognition as the 13th most awarded director by The Gunn Report, a comprehensive global listing of top advertising talent. His work has garnered a number of international accolades including multiple Cannes Lions, Clio Awards, Epica Awards, the Argentine Creative Circle’s El Diente Award, YouTube Ad of the Year, and the Martín Fierro Award among others.

Today, Felipe divides his time between Madrid and Buenos Aires, but his daily life affords him the privilege of filming in distant cities and amongst different cultures, constantly forming deeply treasured bonds and having experiences that will surely be part of the stories of his future feature films.

The Perfect David is his feature debut, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Hector Babenco

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1946, he became a Brazilian citizen in 1970. He directed the films: “King of the Night” (1975, 45th Mostra), “Lúcio Flávio” (1977), winner of the Audience Prize at the 1st Mostra and re-exhibited at the 40th Mostra, “Pixote” (1981, 18th Mostra, 42nd Mostra), “Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1985, 9th Mostra), for which he was nominated for the Oscar for best director, “Ironweed” (1987), nominated for the Oscar for best actor and best actress, “At Play in the Fields of the Lord” (1991), “Foolish Heart” (1996), “Carandiru” (2003), “The Past” (2007, title that opened the 31st Mostra), “The Man who Stole a Duck”, an episode of the feature “Words with Gods” (2014, 38th Mostra), and “My Hindu Friend” (2015, chosen as the opening film of the 39th Mostra). He won the Leon Cakoff Prize at the 37th Mostra, in recognition of his career. Babenco died at the age of 70 in 2016.

Hong Sang-soo

Born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1960. In 1996, he released his first feature film, “The Day a Pig Fell into the Well”, winner of the Tiger award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. He also made films like: “Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors” (2000), “Woman Is the Future of Man” (2004), “Tale of Cinema” (2005, 38th Mostra), “Hahaha” (2010), winner of the Un Certain Regard award at the Cannes Film Festival, “The Day He Arrives” (2011, 35th Mostra), “In Another Country” (2012), ‘Nobody’s Daughter Haewon” (2013), “Right Now, Wrong Then” (2015), winner of the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival, “Yourself and Yours” (2016), best direction at the San Sebastián Film Festival. Mostra has also presented “The Day After” (2017), “Grass” and “Hotel by the River”, both from 2018, “The Woman who Ran” (2020), for which one he won best director award at the Berlinale, “Introduction” (2021), prize of best screenplay at the same film festival, and “The Novelist`s Film” (2022), winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Karim Aïnouz

Born in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, in 1966. He graduated in architecture and urbanism from the Brasilia University and has a master in theory and history of cinema from the New York University. In the 2000’s, he collaborated with the scripts of movies like Shredded April (2001), by Walter Salles, Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures (2005, 30th Mostra), by Marcelo Gomes, and Lower City (2005, 29th Mostra), by Sérgio Machado. Aïnouz made his debut in feature films direction in 2002 with Madame Satã, screened at the 26th Mostra. He also directed Suely in the Sky (2006, 30th Mostra), I Travel Because I Have To, I Come Back Because I Love You (2009), in partnership with Marcelo Gomes, The Silver Cliff (2011), Futuro Beach (2014), Central Airport: THF (2018, 42nd Mostra) and The Invisible Life (2019, 43rd Mostra), winner of Un Certain Regard section at Cannes Film Festival.

Mahamat-Saleh Haroun

Born in Abéché, Chad, in 1960. In 1982, he moved to Paris to begin his career as a journalist and filmmaker. He studied film at the Conservatoire Libre du Cinéma Français and journalism at Bordeaux. Haroun worked as a journalist before directing his debut short film, Maral Tanié (1994). His first feature, Bye-Bye Africa (1999), was awarded best first feature at the Venice Festival. He has also directed Our Father (2002) and Dry Season (2006, 31st Mostra), winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Festival. His fourth feature, A Screaming Man (2010), was awarded Special Jury Prize in Cannes. The film was also presented at the 34th Mostra, which honored the director with a Humanity Award in recognition of his political and aesthetic struggle for his country’s cinema. Until early 2011, Chad had no functioning theatres. Thanks to the director’s pressure and prestige, the government restored Normandie, an old cinema that was reopened in the capital N’Djamena. He was also a member of the International Jury at the 35th Mostra. He also made Grigris (2013, 37th Mostra) and A Season in France (2017).

Marco Bellocchio

Born in the province of Piacenza, Italy, in 1939. He had a catholic education during his teenage years, and in the late 1950s he joined the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome. His first feature film, Fists in the Pockets (1965), was very well-received by critics. He also directed China is Near (1967), Leap into the Void (1980), The Eyes, the Mouth (1982), Devil in the Flesh (1986), The Conviction (1991), Good Morning, Night (2003), Vincere (2009, 33rd Mostra), Sorelle Mai (2010, 35th Mostra) and Dormant Beauty (2012, Critics’ Prize at the 36th Mostra). At the 40th Mostra, in 2016, he presented some of the most significant films of his career, signed the art design of the poster, and received the Leon Cakoff Prize. After that, he directed Blood of My Blood (2015), Sweet Dreams (2016) and The Traitor (2019).

Pedro Almodóvar

The most important Spanish filmmaker since Buñuel, Almodóvar was born in Calzada de Calatrava in 1949. He signed the poster art for the 38th Mostra, edition of the event that paid tribute to the director with a retrospective of his films. Among his main works are Dark Habits (1983); What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984); Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), best screenplay at Venice International Film Festival; Law of Desire (1987); Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989); The Flower of My Secret (1995); All about My Mother (1999), winner of the direction award at Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award of best foreign language film; Talk to Her (2002), for which he received the Academy Award of best original screenplay; Volver (2006), best screenplay at Cannes; The Skin I Live in (2011) and Pain and Glory (2019). 

Tsai Ming-Liang

Born in Malaysia in 1957, Tsai Ming Liang moved to Taiwan in 1977. He is one of the most prominent film directors of Taiwan’s new cinema movement. He directed films such as Vive l’Amour (1994), Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival; The River (1997, 21st Mostra), Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival; The Hole (1998), Critics’s Prize at the Cannes Film Festival; What Time is it There? (2001, 26th Mostra); The Skywalk Is Gone (2002, 27th Mostra); Goodbye, Dragon Inn (2003, 27th Mostra), The Wayward Cloud (2004) and Stray Dogs (2013), Grand Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, and Days (2020, 44th Mostra). He has also directed Aquarium, a segment of the feature Welcome to São Paulo (2004), produced by Mostra. He has also directed the feature Face (2009), on invitation of the Louvre Museum.

Walter Salles

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1956. In 1991, he directed his first feature film, High Art (1991, 15th Mostra). He was a member of the 19th Mostra’s International Jury, in 1995. In partnership with Daniela Thomas, he directed Foreign Land (1995), Midnight (1998, 23rd Mostra), a segment of Paris, I Love You (2006, 30th Mostra) and Linha de Passe (2008, 37th Mostra). Salles is also the director of Central Station (1998), winner of Golden Bear at Berlin International Film Festival, Behind the Sun (2001), The Motorcycle Diaries (2004), On the Road (2012) and Jia Zhangke, a Guy from Fenyang (2014, 38th Mostra). At the 41st Mostra, Salles exhibited the short movie When the Earth Trembles, part of the feature film Where Has the Time Gone? (2017). He produced, among others, Madame Satã (2002), Love for Sale (2006) and Habi, the Foreigner (2013), all of them screened at Mostra.