Biografia
Alexandre Avancini, born in São Paulo, Brazil, is widely regarded as the top action director in Brazilian television. He is the son of the legendary Walter Avancini, one of the most influential and respected directors in Brazilian TV history. Alexandre spent 23 years at Rede Globo, Brazil’s largest TV network based in Rio de Janeiro, which reaches over 200 million viewers daily both domestically and internationally through Rede Globo International. Globo is the world’s second-largest commercial television network, after ABC, producing a vast number of TV series and covering 98.56% of Brazil’s territory, 5,490 cities, and approximately 99.55% of the population. It is part of the Globo Corporation, one of the biggest media conglomerates globally.
In the early 2000s, Alexandre left Rede Globo to take on the challenge of developing Rede Record’s soundstage and transforming it into a formidable competitor to Globo—a challenge he successfully met. At Rede Record, Avancini boosted the network’s ratings significantly, directing its highest-rated TV series such as "Prova de Amor," "Vidas Opostas," "Os Dez Mandamentos," "A Terra Prometida," and the biblical miniseries "José do Egito." His career has become a major industry benchmark. Known for using cutting-edge cinematography equipment, his work rivals major Hollywood productions.
Avancini began his career at Rede Globo in 1982, progressing from VT operator, editor, and assistant director. He served as assistant director on series like "Mico Preto" (1990), "Anos Rebeldes" (1992), "Sex Appeal" (1993), and "O Dono do Mundo" (1991). At age 30, he became a director, helming series and miniseries such as "Pátria Minha" (1994), "Quatro por Quatro" (1994), "História de Amor" (1995), "Anjo de Mim" (1996), "Por Amor" (1997), "Meu Bem Querer" (1998), "Suave Veneno" (1999), "Uga-Uga" (2000), "Presença de Anita" (2001), "O Quinto dos Infernos" (2002), "Coração de Estudante" (2002), and "Kubanacan" (2003).
His first project at Rede Record was "Prova de Amor" (2005), which achieved unprecedented success, surpassing Globo’s ratings for the first time and shaking the network’s long-standing dominance. This marked the rise of Rede Record’s teledramaturgy. Avancini also directed the acclaimed "Vidas Opostas" (2007), the first Brazilian series filmed inside a real Rio de Janeiro favela, which repeatedly outperformed Globo’s ratings. His next series, "Caminhos do Coração" (2007), featured extensive visual effects and broke ratings records, inspiring a sci-fi, fantasy, and adventure trilogy including "Os Mutantes" (2008) and "Promessas de Amor" (2009). This trilogy earned him a Best Director nomination at the 2007 Prêmio Contigo de TV, a prestigious Brazilian award.
In 2009, Avancini directed the innovative crime miniseries "A Lei e o Crime," written by Marcílio Moraes, which became a major hit and earned him another Best Director nomination at the Prêmio Qualidade Brasil. He also directed "Vidas em Jogo" (2011), winning the Best Melodrama category at Canada’s Banff World Media Festival in 2012. That same year, he produced "O Presente," which won Best Short Film at the Los Angeles Brazilian Film Festival.
In 2013, Avancini directed the biblical miniseries "José do Egito," a 38-episode production costing over R$60 million—the most expensive in Brazilian TV history. Filmed in Egypt, Israel, Chile, and Recnov studios using Arri Alexa 5 digital cameras, it was also successful in the U.S., airing on Fox Mundo. That year, he directed "Pecado Mortal," written by Carlos Lombardi, which won Best Melodrama at the 2014 Banff World Media Festival. Internationally, the series was titled "Sins."
Between 2014 and 2015, Avancini directed "Os Dez Mandamentos," the world’s first biblical TV series, a project he initiated. The series was a massive success, doubling Globo’s prime-time ratings and earning the title of Brazil’s Best TV Series from the ABI Press. Its popularity led to a film adaptation, "The Ten Commandments: The Movie," released in 2016, which became Brazil’s highest-grossing film ever. That same year, Avancini directed "A Terra Prometida," a follow-up biblical series continuing the story of Moses.
In 2018, Avancini directed the feature film "Nothing To Lose," a biopic about the founder of one of Brazil’s largest evangelical churches, which became one of the country’s highest-grossing recent films.
