Walter Salles

Born: April 12 1956
Where: Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

The documentary-maker and director exploded onto the international scene with his Oscar-nominated and BAFTA award-winning movie Central Station.

Born into a rich family - his father was Brazilian ambassador to Paris - Salles opted to make documentaries about the country's social problems.

He made his feature debut with the drama A Grande Art featuring Peter Coyote as an American photographer venturing into Rio slums.

Next came the romantic drama Foreign Land, which won over seven international prizes and was named best Brazilian film of 1996.

However, it was Central Station, featuring a luminous performance by Fernanda Montenegro, that really put the director on the map.

Critics felt the actress, who played a former teacher who writes letters for the illiterate, was overlooked for the best actress Oscar.

As a producer, Salles helped make the international hit City Of God about the gangs running wild in Rio's favelas (slums).

In 1998, the First Day united a prisoner and a disillusioned teacher, while Behind The Sun in 2001 detailed the spiral of violence between two rival farming families.

With The Motorcycle Diaries in 2003, Salles was back on top form relating the journals of Cuban revolutionary Che Guavara and starring Gael Garcia Bernal.

In 2005, he remade the Japanese chiller Dark Water, starring Jennifer Connelly and Tim Roth.