Diretores / 49ª mostra

Born in 1978 in Covilhã, Portugal. Mendes studied at the Lisbon Theatre and Film School. Throughout his career, the filmmaker has sought to create a time capsule of Portuguese culture — and of humanity — for future generations. Much of his documentary work has portrayed several Portuguese icons: he portrayed Eduardo Lourenço (“O Labirinto da Saudade”, 2018) and Mário Cesariny (“Autografia”, 2004). José Saramago was depicted in “José and Pilar” (2009, 34th Mostra), which was the first documentary ever selected by Portugal to compete for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Mendes is a permanent member and founder of the Portuguese Academy of Cinema, where he also served as vice president. He has also taught at several universities, published books, and curated exhibitions. His works have been exhibited at MoMA in New York, in Los Angeles, and at major Brazilian cultural institutions. The exhibition “Pontos e Vista” (Points and View), about José Saramago, presented in São Paulo and in other three cities in Brazil, had over 150,000 visitors. He is currently finalizing the project “The Meaning of Life” and preparing the fiction feature “The Gospel According to Jesus Christ”, adapted from the work of José Saramago.