Walter Salles

Walter Moreira Salles, Jr. (born April 12, 1956) is a Brazilian filmmaker and film producer of international prominence. Salles was born in Rio de Janeiro. He is the son of Elizinha Goncalves and Walter Moreira Salles, a Brazilian banker and ambassador, and the brother of João Moreira Salles, also a... Read More

Walter Moreira Salles, Jr. (born April 12, 1956) is a Brazilian filmmaker and film producer of international prominence. Salles was born in Rio de Janeiro. He is the son of Elizinha Goncalves and Walter Moreira Salles, a Brazilian banker and ambassador, and the brother of João Moreira Salles, also a filmmaker. Both, along with two other brothers, are heirs to the bank Unibanco, one of the largest and richest in South America. Salles attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts.

Salles's first notable film was Terra Estrangeira (Foreign Land), released in Brazil in 1995.His biggest international success has been Diarios de Motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries), a 2004 film about the life of young Ernesto Guevara, who later became known as Che Guevara. Salles has reportedly signed on to direct José Rivera's screenplay adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road, with Francis Ford Coppola and Gus Van Sant producing. See Less