A film, TV, and advertising director, he started his career as an assistant director to names like Paul Mazurky and Hector Babenco. Studied Economics at the UFRJ and Film at UFF. At Rede Globo, he was one of the directors of the series A Justiceira. His first feature film, released in 2001, was the documentary 2000 Nordestes, co-directed by David França Mendes, which won the Best Documentary prize at the Brazilian Film Festival of Miami. It was also the first Brazilian film ever to be awarded Unesco’s seal for its content. In 2008, he made the feature fiction film Um Homem Bom, featuring Viggo Mortensen, listed by the Hollywood Reporter magazine as one of the ten best films of the year.