Paulo Branco

Paulo Branco (born 3 June 1950) is a Portuguese film producer.

Paulo Branco
Born (1950-06-03) 3 June 1950
Lisbon, Portugal
OccupationFilm producer
Years active1975 – present
AwardsLeonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts (2019)

Life and career

Paulo Branco was born in Lisbon, and attended the undergraduate program in chemical engineering at the Instituto Superior Técnico but he did not graduate. He started to work at the Olympic Cinema, in Paris, with Frédéric Mitterrand, in 1974, for two years,[1][2] and started his career as a producer in 1979 between Paris and Lisbon.[3]

So far, he has produced over 300 films and has worked with film directors such as David Cronenberg, Jerzy Skolimowski, Wim Wenders, Chantal Akerman, Alain Tanner, Werner Schroeter, André Téchiné, Andrzej Zulawski, Christophe Honoré, Olivier Assayas, Sharunas Bartas, Cédric Kahn, Lucas Belvaux, Valéria Bruni-Tedeschi, João César Monteiro, Paul Auster, Philippe Garrel, Mathieu Amalric… among many others. His career has particularly been branded with an intense collaboration, during more than 20 years, with Raúl Ruiz (Time Regained, Three Lives and Only One Death) and with Manoel de Oliveira (Francisca, Abraham’s Valley, The Satin Slipper).

He has been member of the jury at the Berlinale (1999), at Venice’s Mostra (2005), and at the Rotterdam Film Festival (2006). In 2011, he was foreman of the jury at the Lecce Film Festival and at the Locarno Film Festival.

Paulo Branco is also the producer who has had the greatest number of films selected at Cannes Film Festival and the greatest number of films having competed for the Golden Palm. He presented 53 films in Cannes - 27 of which in Official Selection - and brought 48 films to the Venice Film Festival.

He created several production and distribution companies in Portugal - Madragoa Filmes, Leopardo Filmes, Clap Filmes - where he also owns movie theatres and in France: Les Films du Passage, Gemini Films, and lately Alfama Films. Established in 2006, Alfama Films Production extends Paulo Branco’s commitment for independent cinema with directors he’s been supporting for a long time but also with emerging talents, always taking on new challenges like Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis. In just a few years, it has built an impressive film catalogue welcomed in the most important festivals. Lines of Wellington by Valeria Sarmiento was presented in competition at the 2012 Venice Film Festival. Cosmopolis was selected in the official competition of Cannes in 2012. Mysteries of Lisbon by Raúl Ruiz was selected in competition at Toronto’s and San Sebastian’s Festival, Ashes and blood by Fanny Ardant was presented Out of competition in the Official Selection of Cannes 2009, This Night by Werner Schroeter was in competition in Venice 2008. Four Nights with Anna by Jerzy Skolimowski did the opening of Cannes’ Directors Fortnight in 2008. Love Songs by Christophe Honoré was selected in the official competition of Cannes 2007. Alfama Films has also been developing its activities of theatrical distribution, international sales and video edition.

Paulo Branco is President of the Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival, event that he founded in 2007.. He is the father of Juan Branco.

Selected filmography

Producer

Actor
  • 1900 (1976) - Orso Dalcò
  • In the White City (1983) - L'homme dans la gare (uncredited)
  • Point de fuite (1984)
  • Vidas (1984) - Carlos
  • Três Menos Eu (1988)
  • Piano panier ou La recherche de l'équateur (1989) - António
  • Les infortunes de la beauté (1999) - Le gardien
  • Mister V. (2003) - Batistella
  • Blood Curse (2003) - Godofredo Monteiro (final film role)

Awards
  • 1997: Europa Award of the European Parliament
  • 1998: Gabriela Mistral Order of the Republic of Chile
  • 2002: Raimondo Rezzonico Award of the Locarno Film Festival
  • 2004: Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic
  • 2019: Leonardo da Vinci World Award of Arts conferred by the World Cultural Council[4]
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References
  1. "Paulo Branco, producteur incontournable et controversé du cinéma européen", La Croix, 13 June 2018
  2. "Interview de Paulo Branco : Le dernier pirate du cinéma français"
  3. "Paulo Branco • Producer - Cineuropa", Cineuropa, 1 April 2005
  4. "Produtor Paulo Branco distinguido com prémio mundial das artes Leonardo da Vinci" (in Portuguese). Observador (Portugal). 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
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