Fernando Fraiha

Fernando Fraiha, born in São Paulo, is that rare breed who jumps from editing social documentaries and messing around with video art in theater to actually directing and producing movies people talk about. He kicked things off at 25, hustling behind the scenes, and then just decided to go all in. His first feature as director, 'La Vingança' (El Revenge), is this crazy Brasil-Argentina road trip comedy. It dropped in 2016 (with a proper premiere in 2017) and got co-signed by Paris Filmes, Lions Gate, and Globo Films. Not too shabby for a debut. The movie made the rounds at pretty much every festival with a pulse—Rio Film Festival, São Paulo, Punta del Este, Cleveland, Chicago Latino, even Trondheim. Jury at Marseille gave it a special mention, Brooklyn Film Festival named Fraiha Best New Director, and it snagged Best Feature at the Festival Internazionale di Cinema Brasiliano. But dude’s not just a director. He’s a partner at Biônica Filmes, churning out hits like HBO’s "PSI" (yeah, that one that landed an Emmy nom for Best Drama Series in 2015), and the comedy smash "Os Homens são de Marte..." which killed it at the box office and scored the top comedy prize at Brazil’s biggest film awards. He’s also produced "Reza a Lenda," which grabbed a prize at the Tallinn Black Nights fest, plus quirky gems like "TOC – Transtornada Obsessiva Compulsiva" and the SXSW Audience Award winner "Divinas Divas." Basically, the guy’s everywhere in Brazilian film, and honestly, it’s wild how much he's stacked up.