Nelson Pereira dos Santos is remembered on screen for work that changed what came after it.
The record lists Nelson Pereira dos Santos as Brazilian film director (1928–2018).
Nelson Pereira dos Santos was born at São Paulo in 1928. His recorded nationality is Brazil. He trained at Institut des hautes études cinématographiques and University of São Paulo.
This generation broke the studio mould - lighter cameras, location shooting, and directors who claimed authorship of the finished film.
Nelson Pereira dos Santos is credited as film director, screenwriter and film editor.
Among his best-known works are Barren Lives and How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman. A film outlives its reviews, its budget and usually its studio; what remains is whether anyone still watches it.
Formal recognition came in the shape of the Order of Cultural Merit (Brazil) (2003) and Commander of the Order of Rio Branco.
That the work was made from Brazil shaped it: national industries differ in what they finance, who they cast and which audiences they can reach.
Nelson Pereira dos Santos died in 2018, aged 90. The films remain, which is the only form in which a screen career survives.
Achievements
- Order of Cultural Merit (Brazil) — 2003
- Commander of the Order of Rio Branco
- Notable work: Barren Lives
- Notable work: How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman
- Worked as film director, screenwriter and film editor
