Carlos Saldanha, the soul of Rio (the animation film)

Rio, the animation that just took in $40 million on its opening weekend (that is, last weekend) in the USA, after accumulating $168 million in other countries, is the latest Hollywood incursion of carioca director Carlos Saldanha, who also directed the Ice Age saga and co-directed Robots. Considered one of the best movie animators out there, he was nominated to the Oscar for his short Gone Nutty. If you understand Portuguese, check this great  one-hour interview on Roda Viva TV program,  where he describes his trajectory. Otherwise, you can check this  short video in English where he is interviewed by young viewers of his movie.

Saldanha is only one of the shiny stars of the Brazilian renaissance in Hollywood. This week, Forbes magazine reminds us that:

José Padilha, 44, garnered success in Brazil’s first-ever crime drama franchise “Elite Squad” (Tropa de Elite). Now he’s going to be shooting a new version of “Robocop.” Fernando Meirelles was allegedly hired to do a movie about the Onassis family, based on the book “Nemesis” by Peter Evans. His favorite screenwriter, Brazilian Braulio Mantovani, is supposed to be writing it, according to the Vulture blog of New York Magazine. Wagner Moura, the lead actor in “Elite Squad”, will have his Hollywood debut in “Elysium” produced by Matt Damon and Jodie Foster.

But Saldanha doesn’t want to be pegged as a Brazilian filmmaker per se. In an interview to the Washington Post’s blog Speak Easy, he says:

My whole movie career is in America. I’m Brazilian by birth, but I’m an American filmmaker. I left Brazil when I was 21 and came to the School of Visual Arts. My sensibilities are more guided toward my reality here. It’s a global reality. I don’t make movies with Brazilian flavor; I make a movie about whatever I decide. Rio happens to be very personal because I am from there. But I don’t know if it’s considered a Brazilian movie. It’s something I made for Americans and the world.  I do love Brazilian cinema. There’s a lot of great stuff. I may make a movie that appeals to the Brazilian sensibility, but I consider myself an international filmmaker.

And now, a little taste of Rio, the animation