Born in Pernambuco, Brazil, in 1963. He studied cinema at Bristol University in England. He has directed the short films "Maracatu, Maracatus" (1994) and "Clandestina Felicidade" (1998). His first feature, "Cinema, Aspirins and Vultures" (2005), won the jury award for best film at the 29th Mostra. He has also directed the features "I Travel Because I Must, I Return Because I Love You" (2009, 33rd Mostra), with Karim Aïnouz, "Once Upon a Time Was I, Verônica" (2012, 36th Mostra), "The Man of the Crowd" (2013, 37th Mostra), co-directed with Cao Guimarães, "Joaquim" (2017), "Waiting for the Carnival" (2019), and "Paloma" (2022, 46th Mostra). His movies were presented in film festivals like Cannes, Rotterdam, Venice, and Berlin.