1. Walter Salles's accolades include an Academy Award accepted for Best International Film, three Cannes Film Festival prizes, three Venice Film Festival prizes, two British Academy Film Awards, a Golden Bear and a Golden Globe.
26 Facts About Walter Salles
1. 2.
Walter Salles first became internationally known for his film Central Station, which earned two Academy Awards nominations, for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actress for Fernanda Montenegro, winning a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for Best Foreign Language Film as well as the Golden Bear at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival.
3.
Heir to Itau Unibanco, with a fortune valued at US$4.5 billion, Walter Salles is the third richest filmmaker in the world.
4.
Walter Salles was born on 12 April 1956, in Rio de Janeiro.
5.
At the age of 15, Walter Salles returned to Brazil under the dictatorship of Emilio Garrastazu Medici.
6.
Walter Salles attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts.
7.
Walter Salles originally gained experience in film through non-fiction documentaries.
8.
Walter Salles worked on documentaries for ten years before switching to fictional films.
9.
Walter Salles won a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, becoming the first Brazilian to win a Golden Globe.
10.
In 2003, Walter Salles was voted one of the 40 Best Directors in the World by The Guardian.
11.
Walter Salles won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and Francois Chalais Prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival.
12.
In 2005, Walter Salles released his first Hollywood film, Dark Water, a remake of the 2002 Japanese film of the same name.
13.
Walter Salles helped to produce the Argentine picture Sisters, which was a major success.
14.
In 2006, Walter Salles wrote and directed a segment in the French film Paris, je t'aime with Daniela Thomas.
15.
Walter Salles' segment called Loin du 16 and took place in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.
16.
In 2007, Walter Salles took part in a similar project called To Each His Own Cinema in the 60th anniversary of the Cannes Film Festival.
17.
In 2008, Walter Salles wrote and directed the film Linha de Passe, with Thomas.
18.
Walter Salles 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.
19.
In 2012, Walter Salles released Jose Rivera's screenplay adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, with Francis Ford Coppola producing.
20.
In 2024, twelve years after his last feature film, Walter Salles released I'm Still Here, 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.
21.
For I'm Still Here, at the 97th Academy Awards, Walter Salles accepted the Oscar for Best International Feature Film on behalf of Brazil and the film creatives as a whole.
22.
In 2009, Walter Salles signed a petition in support of film director Roman Polanski, calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.
23.
In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Walter Salles signed an open letter published in Liberation 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.
24.
In February 2025, Walter 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 Brasilia attacks, and that he wouldn't have had the opportunity to film during the government of Jair Bolsonaro.
25.
Walter Salles is the third richest filmmaker in the world, behind Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.
26.
In July 2022 Walter Salles was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of letters by the University of Reading.