Walter Salles

Walter Salles
Walter Salles
Born	Walter Moreira Salles Júnior; April 12, 1956 (age 70); Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Occupation(s)	Film director, film producer
Years active	1986–present
Known for	Central Station, The Motorcycle Diaries, I'm Still Here

Walter Moreira Salles Júnior (; born April 12, 1956) is a prominent Brazilian director and a central figure in the resurgence of Brazilian cinema. He is esteemed as one of the nation's most distinguished filmmakers, having earned numerous prestigious honors such as an Academy Award for Best International Film, three awards from the Cannes Film Festival, three accolades from the Venice Film Festival, two British Academy Film Awards, a Golden Bear, and a Golden Globe.

Salles rose to international acclaim with Central Station (1998), which received two Academy Award nominations—including Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actress for Fernanda Montenegro—and secured the Golden Globe, BAFTA, and the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. His significant works also include Behind the Sun (2001), The Motorcycle Diaries (2004), Dark Water (2005), and On the Road (2012). His 2024 release, I'm Still Here, achieved dual Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best International Feature, winning the latter and marking the first time a Brazilian film has won an Oscar in any category.

As an heir to Itaú Unibanco, with an estimated net worth of US$4.5 billion (R$ billion), Salles is ranked as the third wealthiest filmmaker globally.

Early life and education

Walter Moreira Salles Júnior was born in Rio de Janeiro on April 12, 1956. During his childhood, he lived in France and the United States due to his father, Walter Moreira Salles, serving as a diplomat. At age 15, he returned to Brazil amid Emílio Garrastazu Médici's military regime.

He pursued his studies at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.

Career

Salles commenced his professional journey creating non-fiction documentaries for a decade before shifting focus to narrative filmmaking.

His breakthrough came with Terra Estrangeira (Foreign Land) in 1995, which received critical acclaim domestically and was showcased at more than 40 international film festivals. In 1998, Central Station brought him global recognition with two Academy Award nominations and earned him a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film—making him the first Brazilian recipient of this accolade.

In 2001, he directed Abril Despedaçado (Behind the Sun), adapted from Ismail Kadare's novel and featuring Rodrigo Santoro; this film also garnered a Golden Globe nomination. Both productions were backed by Arthur Cohn and distributed worldwide.

The Guardian included Salles among the top 40 directors worldwide in 2003. His international breakthrough continued with The Motorcycle Diaries (2004), a Spanish-language biographical film about Ernesto "Che" Guevara that achieved commercial success across Latin America and Europe while receiving honors at Cannes.

In 2005, Salles made his Hollywood debut directing Dark Water, a remake of a Japanese horror movie. That same year, he produced the acclaimed Argentine film Sisters (Hermanas). In 2006, he co-directed a segment of the French anthology Paris, je t'aime. The following year, he contributed a short film to To Each His Own Cinema, commemorating Cannes' 60th anniversary.

He wrote and directed Linha de Passe (2008), portraying four brothers from an impoverished background; it was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes where Sandra Corveloni won Best Actress. In 2012, he helmed an adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, produced by Francis Ford Coppola and also nominated for the Palme d'Or.

After a twelve-year break from feature films, Salles returned with I'm Still Here (2024), inspired by Marcelo Rubens Paiva's account of his father's disappearance during Brazil's military dictatorship. The movie competed for the Golden Lion at Venice and earned Fernanda Torres a Golden Globe for Best Actress—the first Brazilian actress to receive this honor. At the 97th Academy Awards, Salles accepted the Oscar for Best International Feature Film on behalf of Brazil and its creative team.

Personal life, views and beliefs

In 2009, Salles endorsed a petition advocating for the release of film director Roman Polanski following his detention in Switzerland concerning the 1977 allegations of drugging and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

During December 2023, together with 50 other filmmakers, Salles co-signed an open letter published in Libération urging a ceasefire amid the 2023 Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip. The letter called for establishing a humanitarian corridor into Gaza and the liberation of hostages.

In February 2025, in an interview with CNN, Salles explained that his film I'm Still Here serves as a reflection on Brazilian democracy after the 2022 general election and the 2023 attacks in Brasília. He remarked that this project would not have been possible under the administration of Jair Bolsonaro.

Fortune

As of January 5, 2025, Salles's net worth is estimated at $4.2 billion, positioning him as the third wealthiest filmmaker worldwide, following Steven Spielberg ($5.3 billion) and George Lucas ($5.2 billion).

Feature films

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes
1991	A Grande Arte	Yes	No	No
1995	Foreign Land	Yes	Yes	No	Co-directed with Daniela Thomas
1998	Central Station	Yes	Story	No
1998	Midnight	Yes	Yes	No	Co-directed with Daniela Thomas
2001	Behind the Sun	Yes	Yes	No
2002	City of God	No	No	Yes
2004	The Motorcycle Diaries	Yes	No	No
2005	Dark Water	Yes	No	No
2006	Paris, je t'aime	Yes	Yes	No	Segment: "Loin du 16e"
2007	To Each His Own Cinema	Yes	No	No	Segment: "5,557 Miles From Cannes"
2008	Linha de Passe	Yes	Yes	Yes	Co-directed with Daniela Thomas
2012	On the Road	Yes	No	Uncredited
2018	Unremember	No	No	Yes
2023	The Movie Teller	No	Yes	No
2024	Noah's Ark	No	No	Yes
2024	I'm Still Here	Yes	No	No

Short films

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Remarks
1995	Life Somewhere Else	Yes	Yes	No	Documentary film
2010	"In Search of the World"	Yes"	No"	No"	Short essay format
2017	"Where Has the Time Gone?"	Yes"	No"	No"	Segment titled "When the Earth Trembles"

Television

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Remarks
1986	"Japão: Uma Viagem No Tempo"	Yes"	No"	Four episodes
1995	"Un Siécle d'Écrivains"	Yes"	No"	Episode titled "Jorge Armando"
2019	"Irmãos Freitas"	No"	Yes"	Eight episodes

Documentaries

Year	Title	Subject	Remarks
1987	'Krajcberg: O Poeta Dos Vestígios'	'Frans Krajcberg'
1988	'Marisa Monte'	'Marisa Monte'	Co-directed alongside Nelson Motta
1989	'Chico, ou O País Da Delicadeza Perdida'	'Chico Buarque'	Co-directed with Nelson Motta
1995	'Antônio Carlos Jobim: An All-Star Tribute'	'Antônio Carlos Jobim'
1999	'Somos Todos Filhos Da Terra'	'Adão Dãxalebaradã'	Co-directed with Kátia Lund, João Moreira Salles, and Daniela Thomas
2002	'Castanha E Caju Contra O Encouraçado Titanic'		Co-directed with Daniela Thomas and George Moura
2013	'Venice 70: Future Reloaded'	'Venice Film Festival'	Directed a segment of the film
2014	'Jia Zhangke, A Guy from Fenyang'	'Jia Zhangke'

Awards and nominations

In July 2022, an honorary Doctor of Letters degree was conferred upon Salles by the University of Reading.

External links