Lisbon, 1984. Graduated from The National Film and Theater Academy (ESTC) in Portugal, and Universidad del Cine – Buenos Aires.
His feature debut MOUNTAIN world premiered at the Venice Film Festival – Critics Week (2015) and was theatrically released in Portugal and France.
It came on the heels of a trilogy of internationally award-winning short films: RAFA (Golden Bear at the Berlinale 2012); CERRO NEGRO (Rotterdam 2012); and ARENA (Palme d’Or for Best Short Film at the Festival de Cannes 2009).
His films have screened in the most prestigious international film festivals and in places as Centre Pompidou, La Biennale di Venezia of Architecture, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Barbican Centre, Malba Buenos Aires, Fundação Gulbenkian, Casa de America Madrid, Belgrade Museum of Contemporary Art and Artium Basque Museum of Contemporary Art.
João Salaviza also directed the experimental short films as STROKKUR (FID Marseille, Belfort, Gijón, Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin/Madrid); HOUSE AT COMPORTA commissioned for the Portuguese architecture national exhibition at the Venice Biennale 2010; HOTEL MÜLLER on the work of Pina Bausch.
The short film HIGH CITIES OF BONE is his most recent work, with its World Premiere at the Berlinale 2017.
CHUVA É CANTORIA NA ALDEIA DOS MORTOS, co-directed with Renée Nader Messora, have its premiere due in 2018.
Filmography
MOUNTAIN (2015) (San Sebastian, Rotterdam, Munich, Bafici, Sao Paulo, Angers and winner of Golden Antigone at Montpellier)
RAFA (2012)
CERRO NEGRO (2012)
STROKKUR (2011)
ARENA (2009)