Teresa Villaverde is a Portuguese film director and screenwriter. She was born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal in 1967. She studied film directing in Lisbon’s Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema and graduated in 1992.
Throughout her career, Villaverde has focused on the inner lives of her characters and the struggles of ordinary people. Her works span a range of genres and themes, from family dramas to psychological thrillers. She has tackled topics such as immigration, poverty, and mental illness.
Villaverde’s first feature film, “Cousin” (1995), won numerous awards at international film festivals. It tells the story of two teenage girls from Lisbon who take a road trip to the countryside and are confronted with the harsh realities of rural life. This film was followed by “O Fantasma” (2000), a psychological thriller about a young security guard who falls in love with a mysterious woman.
In 2003, Villaverde directed her most acclaimed film to date, “Colossal Youth”. This film was nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and won numerous awards at other festivals. It follows an elderly man who is forced to leave his home and travels around Lisbon in search of his lost family.
Villaverde has since directed several other films, including “Rosa” (2006), “Tabu” (2012), and “The Gilded Cage” (2016). Her most recent work, “The Dead and the Others” (2018), is a drama about a young man from an Indigenous tribe in Brazil who is forced to confront the changing world around him. The film was selected to be screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival.
Villaverde is considered one of the most important filmmakers of her generation. Her films are noted for their realism and their ability to capture the emotional complexity of her characters. She has been praised for her bold visual style and her skillful use of music, which often plays an important role in the narrative. Villaverde’s films have been shown in festivals around the world and she has received numerous awards for her work. She is a passionate advocate for independent filmmaking and has been a major inspiration for many young filmmakers.
