Hector Babenco
Encyclopedia
Héctor Eduardo Babenco is an Argentine
-born Brazil
ian film director
, screenwriter
, producer
and actor
.
He has worked in several countries including Argentina
, Brazil
and the United States
.
of Ukrainian
origin and his mother was a Polish
Jewish immigrant. Babenco lived in Europe from 1964-1968. In 1969, he decided to stay in São Paulo
, Brazil
permanently. In 1975, he directed his first feature film, King of the Night.
His break-out film was Pixote - A lei do mais fraco (1981) about Brazil's abandoned children. Due to the impressive work of young actor Fernando Ramos da Silva (10 years old at the time), who was discovered in the suburbs of São Paulo, the film was a worldwide success and received numerous international prizes.
In 1994, Babenco fell ill and had to undergo a bone marrow
transplant to cure a lymphatic cancer.
He has directed some of the most respected American actors in cinema, including: William Hurt
, John Lithgow
, Raul Julia
, Jack Nicholson
, Meryl Streep
, Tom Berenger
, Daryl Hannah
, Aidan Quinn
, Kathy Bates
, and others.
Acting
Nominations
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
-born Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
He has worked in several countries including Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Biography
His father was an Argentine gauchoGaucho
Gaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...
of Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
origin and his mother was a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Jewish immigrant. Babenco lived in Europe from 1964-1968. In 1969, he decided to stay in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
permanently. In 1975, he directed his first feature film, King of the Night.
His break-out film was Pixote - A lei do mais fraco (1981) about Brazil's abandoned children. Due to the impressive work of young actor Fernando Ramos da Silva (10 years old at the time), who was discovered in the suburbs of São Paulo, the film was a worldwide success and received numerous international prizes.
In 1994, Babenco fell ill and had to undergo a bone marrow
Bone marrow
Bone marrow is the flexible tissue found in the interior of bones. In humans, bone marrow in large bones produces new blood cells. On average, bone marrow constitutes 4% of the total body mass of humans; in adults weighing 65 kg , bone marrow accounts for approximately 2.6 kg...
transplant to cure a lymphatic cancer.
He has directed some of the most respected American actors in cinema, including: William Hurt
William Hurt
William McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...
, John Lithgow
John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
, Raul Julia
Raúl Juliá
Raúl Rafael Juliá y Arcelay was a Puerto Rican actor.Born in San Juan, he gained interest in acting while still in school. Upon completing his studies, Juliá decided to pursue a career in acting. After performing in the local scene for some time, he was convinced by entertainment personality Orson...
, Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
, Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
, Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
, Daryl Hannah
Daryl Hannah
Daryl Christine Hannah is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street and Roxanne and Kill Bill.-Early life:Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan...
, Aidan Quinn
Aidan Quinn
-Early life:Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois to Irish parents. He was brought up as a Roman Catholic and raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly in Ireland. His mother, Teresa, was a homemaker, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of...
, Kathy Bates
Kathy Bates
Kathleen Doyle "Kathy" Bates is an American actress and director.After several small roles in film and television, Bates rose to prominence with her performance in Misery , for which she won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe...
, and others.
Filmography
Director and producer- O Fabuloso Fittipaldi (1973)
- O rei da noite (1975) aka King of the Night
- Lúcio Flávio, o passageiro da agonia (1977) aka Lucio Flacio, Passenger of Agony
- Pixote - A lei do mais fracoPixotePixote: a Lei do Mais Fraco , is a Brazilian drama film directed by Hector Babenco. The screenplay was written by Babenco and Jorge Durán, based on the book A infância dos mortos by José Louzeiro....
(1981) aka Pixote - The Survival of the Weakest - A Terra é Redonda Como uma Laranja (1984)
- Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) (director only)
- IronweedIronweed (film)Ironweed is a 1987 film directed by Argentine-born Brazilian Héctor Babenco.The picture is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title by William Kennedy and concerns the relationship of a homeless couple: Francis, an alcoholic, and Helen, a terminally ill woman during the Great...
(1987) (director only) - At Play in the Fields of the LordAt Play in the Fields of the LordAt Play in the Fields of the Lord is a drama film directed by Héctor Babenco adapted from the 1965 novel of the same name by American author Peter Matthiessen. The screenplay was written by Babenco and Jean-Claude Carrière...
(Pt.Portuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
: Brincando nos campos do Senhor) (1991) (director only) - Corazón iluminado (1996) aka Foolish Heart
- CarandiruCarandiru (film)Carandiru is a 2003 Brazilian and Argentine film directed by Hector Babenco. It is based on the book Estação Carandiru by Dr. Drauzio Varella, a physician and AIDS specialist, who is portrayed in the film by Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos....
(2003) - El Pasado (2007)
Acting
- The Venice ProjectThe Venice ProjectThe Venice Project is a 1999 drama film directed by Robert Dornhelm. It stars Lauren Bacall and Dennis Hopper, and included a cameo appearance from Steve Martin.-Cast:*Lauren Bacall ... Countess Camilla Volta*Dennis Hopper ... Roland / Salvatore...
(1999) - Before Night FallsBefore Night Falls (film)Before Night Falls is a 2000 film directed by Julian Schnabel. The screenplay is based on the autobiography of the same name of Reinaldo Arenas, which was published in English in 1993. The screenplay was written by Schnabel, Cunningham O'Keefe, and Lázaro Gómez Carriles...
(2000)
Awards
Wins- São Paulo International Film FestivalSão Paulo International Film FestivalThe São Paulo International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in São Paulo, Brazil since 1976. In 2004 Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami was a member of the jury.-International Jury Award:*2001: The New Country ...
: Audience Award; Best Feature for: Lúcio Flávio, o Passageiro da Agonia; 1977. - Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival: OCIC Award - Honorable Mention, for: Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco; 1981.
- Locarno International Film Festival: Silver Leopard; for: Pixote: A Lei do Mais Fraco; 1981.
- Tokyo International Film FestivalTokyo International Film FestivalTokyo International Film Festival is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biannually from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter...
: Special Jury Distinguished Award for: Kiss of the Spider Woman; 1985. - Havana Film FestivalHavana Film FestivalThe Havana Film Festival is a Cuban festival that focuses on the promotion of Spanish-language filmmakers. It is also known in Spanish as Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano de La Habana, and in English as Festival of New Latinamerican Cinema of La Havana.The festival takes place...
: Audience Award; Glauber Rocha Award; House of the Americas Award; OCIC Award; Radio Havana Award; Saúl Yelín Award; Special Jury Prize; for: Carandiru; 2003. - Cartagena Film Festival, Colombia: Golden India Catalina; Best Film, for: Carandiru; 2004.
- Cinema Brazil: Cinema Brazil Grand Prize; Best Adapted Screenplay, for: Carandiru. Shared with: Fernando Bonassi and Victor Navas; Best Director for: Carandiru; 2004.
- Gramado Film Festival: Eduardo Abelin Trophy; 2005.
Nominations
- Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
: Oscar; Best Director, for: Kiss of the Spider Woman; 1986. - Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
: 1985 Golden Palm, for: Kiss of the Spider Woman; 1998 Golden Palm, for: Corazón iluminado; 2003 Golden Palm; for: Carandiru.