HECTOR BABENCO

Director, screenwriter and film producer, Hector Babenco was born in Argentina in 1946, arrived in Brazil in 1969, becoming naturalized Brazilian. He began filmmaking in 1973 as executive producer and co-director with Roberto Farias in The Fabulous Fittipaldi. In 1975, he directed his first fiction, The King of Night. He reached one of the highest box office ratings in Brazil with Lucio Flavio (1977). He is the author of the blockbuster Pixote (1981), best foreign film of the year according to the Los Angeles and New York critics associations.

His first international production was The Kiss of Spider Woman (1985), with four Oscar nominations, including best director. William Hurt won the Oscar for best actor and the male acting award at Cannes.

He directed Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep in Ironweed (1987) for which they were nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress.

In 1990, he directed At Play in the Fields of the Lord, produced by Saul Zaentz, with actors Tom Berenger, Daryl Hannah, Aldann Quinn and Kathy Bates.

Filmed Foolish Heart (1998), in Argentina, inspired by memories of his youth. The film was selected for competition for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 2003, he was chosen for the official selection of the Palme d'Or by the Cannes Festival with Carandiru, yet again one of the biggest box office hits in Brazil. With stories from the real people from Carandiru, in 2005 he created the television series Carandiru - other stories.

In 2007, he directed The Past, an Argentine-Brazilian film, with actor Gael Garcia Bernal as the main character.

His latest feature film is My Hindu Friend and it was released in theaters in March 2016. The film was written, directed and produced by Hector Babenco. The film brings actor Willem Dafoe and Hector's wife, Barbara Paz, renowned Brazilian actress who directed BABENCO - Tell me when I die, which won the award for best documentary in Venice and was the official selection of the Brazil for the Oscar for Best International Film in 2021.