Biography
Luis Antonio Pereira began his career as a stage actor in Ópera do Malandro, written by acclaimed Brazilian composer Chico Buarque. After relocating to Los Angeles, he appeared in numerous plays, including the Broadway musicals Big River and The Sound of Music. Developing an interest in producing, Pereira directed his first play, David and Goliath, featuring the notable African American dance company Wade. His success with this production led him to Major League Productions, where he contributed to feature films through project development, screenplay analysis, budgeting, production management, and assistant directing. He continued acting in projects such as Family Man and Little Nikki (Universal) while working on music videos for artists like Backstreet Boys, Smash Mouth, and Bootsy Collins.
Returning to Brazil in the early 2000s, Luis Antonio founded the production company LAFILMS.TV. He wrote and directed several short films, including The Secret (2005), Mother (2008), and Happy Widow (2016), each earning awards and recognition at over 50 festivals across more than 20 countries. In 2007, Pereira directed, produced, and wrote Goals in Life, a film about a charity campaign featuring Pelé, which premiered at the 2007 FIFA Awards and was shown internationally for several years.
In 2014, he released his first feature film, Jogo de Xadrez (Chess Game). This million-dollar production was filmed in Rio de Janeiro with a distinguished Brazilian cast including Priscila Fantin, Antonio Calloni, Tuca Andrada, and Carla Marins. Chess Game received accolades at festivals worldwide and was distributed by Xenon Pictures. The film won prestigious awards such as Best Film in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and Hollywood, while Priscila Fantin earned Best Actress honors in New York, Houston, Hollywood, and Lisbon.
In 2018, Luis Antonio wrote, produced, and directed the Brazilian radio soap comeback titled The Bollagattos, featuring top actors like Priscila Fantin, André Ramiro, Bianca Rinaldi, and Paloma Bernardi. He also directed, produced, and wrote the comedy miniseries East Wing for Brazilian television in 2019. In November 2020, his TV series Amelio, the True Man, which he wrote and directed, premiered with a stellar cast including Thierry Figueira, Natallia Rodrigues, Carla Marins, Edwin Luisi, and Sandra Pera.
Currently, he is completing post-production on his first international feature film, Reús 2, a Spanish-language co-production between Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil, starring prominent Latin actors Marina Glezer and Nico Riera. Pereira is also developing three feature films slated for production in 2021 and 2022: António, a Brazil-Portugal co-production; Stone Forest, starring Murilo Rosa; and Overtown, a USA-Argentina co-production to be shot in Miami, with dialogues in English and Spanish.
7 wins and 93 nominations
