Selton Mello, one of Brazil’s most respected actors and directors, has built a remarkable career spanning four decades.
From his beginnings as a child actor to his status as a celebrated artist, Mello has consistently demonstrated his passion for storytelling and connection with audiences.
Born on December 30, 1972, in Passos, Minas Gerais, Mello began acting in Brazilian television soap operas during the 1980s.
His talent quickly earned him recognition, leading to his transition to cinema.
In the 1990s, he gained acclaim with films such as Lavoura Arcaica (To the Left of the Father) and O Auto da Compadecida (A Dog’s Will).
The latter remains a cultural classic, with Mello’s role as Chicó highlighting his comedic timing and depth.
Mello’s versatility as an actor is evident in his diverse filmography, including Meu Nome Não É Johnny (My Name Ain’t Johnny)* and Jean Charles, a poignant portrayal of a Brazilian immigrant’s tragic story.
In Ainda Estou Aqui (I’m Still Here), directed by Walter Salles, Mello delivered a powerful performance as Rubens Paiva, a congressman disappeared during Brazil’s military dictatorship.
Beyond acting, Mello has excelled as a director.
His 2011 film O Palhaço (The Clown), which explores themes of identity and purpose, received widespread acclaim and numerous awards.
His second directorial work, O Filme da Minha Vida (The Movie of My Life), further showcased his storytelling ability, earning accolades at the Rome Film Festival.
In 2024, Mello continues to impact Brazilian cinema with anticipated projects like O Auto da Compadecida 2 and Bury Your Dead, reflecting his ability to adapt to diverse narratives.
A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Mello plays a key role in promoting Brazilian cinema internationally.
With over 40 years in the industry, Selton Mello remains a significant figure, celebrated for his contributions as an actor, director, and cultural embassador.
Besieged by cancer and nearing the end, the genius Argentine-Brazilian filmmaker Héctor Babenco (1946-2016) asks Bárbara Paz, his wife, for one last wish: to be the protagonist of his own death.
Lino works as an entertainer at children's parties, but he can't stand the way children treat him, making fun of him because he works in a cat's costume. Determined to change his life, he visits a wizard, but the magic doesn't work in the right way, and he wakes up as a big cat.
The sierras of southern Brazil, 1963. The son of an French man and a Brazilian woman, Tony is a young man with a profound love of cinema and poetry. After graduating from college he returns to his small town in rural Brazil, to find out that his father had left for good, back to France. Tony then looks for the company of his fathers friends in search of information and references of a lost male role-model. He becomes a school teacher and a male figure to kids, in an attempt to provide them with something he lacks himself. A series of developments lead him to a surprising final lead on his fathers' whereabouts and reasons for leaving.
Diego is a film director who, when he is told that he has a malignant disease which could be fatal, marries his girlfriend of many years, says goodbye to his friends and begins a routine of long days of treatment in hospital. While learning to live with the pain and also conversing with death, he meets a Hindu boy who is a fellow patient and who becomes his friend. But one day the boy disappears. Diego is discharged, but his life has changed forever. His marriage fails and, living alone, he begins to wonder whether he may in fact be dying and no one has told him. He tries to find out what happened to his Hindu friend, and eventually meets another woman.
Set in Brazil, three kids who make a discovery in a garbage dump soon find themselves running from the cops and trying to right a terrible wrong.
“Rio 2096 – A Story of Love and Fury” is an animated film that portrays the love between an immortal hero and Janaína, the woman he has been in love with for 600 years. As a backdrop to the romance, the feature highlights four phases of Brazilian history: colonization, slavery, the Military Regime and the future, in 2096, when there will be a war for water.
Brasília. Vital is a Brazilian federal police deputy who leads a special investigation group that aims to capture the international drug trafficker Beque Batista. Three other officers make up the group: Dani, Rock and Lua. In parallel, Vital need to take care of Leila, his pregnant wife, and does everything so she does not participate in the violent world in which he lives.
A chronicle of the life of Spanish playwright and poet Lope de Vega, who dominated Spain's early Golden Age of Theater in the 16th century. Lope returns home from war and enters the theater world when a producer's beautiful daughter takes a shine to him. They embark on a passionate affair as his plays begin to win popular acclaim.
Colonel Furtado struggles to keep his lands, the Sobradinho Farm, and win the heart of his cousin Esmeraldina. In the process, he fights big beasts, experiences the taste of a bohemian life in town, fends usurers and thieves off, and uses all his cunning to get rid of haunting entities. His rival is the man he was brought up with, Pernambuco Nogueira, a werewolf.
After losing her job, an unstable woman sinks further and further into a violent fantasy world.
In 1940s São Paulo, Pedro’s tasked to retrieve his estranged brother André. André’s departure stems from a domineering father, an overly affectionate mother, and Pedro’s jealousy over the father’s favoritism. Further complicating matters is André’s unconventional relationship with their sister, Ana.
The lively João Grilo and the sly Chicó are poor guys living in the hinterland who cheat a bunch of people in a small town in Northeastern Brazil. When they die, they have to be judged by Christ, the Devil and the Virgin Mary before they are admitted to paradise.
At the end of the 19th century, a poor family comes to the rural Canudos, a community led by Antônio Conselheiro, seen by many as a holy prophet. Their ways bother the powerful people of the region, and the newly founded Republic sends their army to destroy the settlement, which culminates in one of the bloodiest wars in the history of Brazil.
Fernando, a journalist, and his friend César join terrorist group MR8 in order to fight Brazilian dictatorial regime during the late sixties. César, however, is wounded and captured during a bank hold up. Fernando then decides to kidnap the American ambassador in Brazil and ask for the release of fifteen political prisoners in exchange for his life.