- Flavio Alves is a Brazilian film writer, director, and producer. He was granted political asylum in the United States in 1998 with the help of the Immigrants and Refugee Rights Clinic at the City University of New York School of Law. Shortly thereafter, he attended Columbia University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science. After graduating, Alves worked as an assistant to then-New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and to then-New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner (D-NY).
In 2007, Flavio returned to school to study film production at New York University, where he received the Technisphere Award for Outstanding Achievement. Since then he has directed several films, including The Secret Friend (2010) and Tom in America (2014). His debut film, The Garden Left Behind (2019), premiered at SXSW, where it won the Audience Award. The Garden Left Behind is an IFP Narrative Lab project and has recently received the support from GLAAD, NALIP, Trans Filmmakers Project, and PFLAG. Flavio is the recipient of grants from numerous organizations, including the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), and Jerome Foundation.
In 2016, Alves pioneered the use of eBay as a crowdfunding platform by selling thousands of donated items online to help to finance his film. In 2018, Flavio was selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center to the Artist Academy fellowship, which is a program designed to support the next generation of filmmakers from a variety of backgrounds as they develop their careers. He is also a fellow with the Ryan Murphy's Half Initiative directing program. Flavio Alves is the founder of Queens Pictures LLC, a New York-based film production company..
- IMDb mini biography by: Lisa A. Smith
- SpouseRandall Martusis(August 14, 2008 - 2015) (his death)
- Features elderly actors as the main characters: Tom in America (2014), The Secret Friend (2010) and Even in My Dreams (2008).
- His films often deal with a sense of loneliness depicted by the main character.
- He worked as an assistant for then-New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY).
- Attended Columbia University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science.
- He was granted political asylum in the US in 1998.
- He was awarded the 2008 Techinisphere Award for best student film, Even in My Dreams, by NYU.
- Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- The Technisphere Award was the best thing to happen to me. Sometimes you need someone to tell you what you're doing is worth it.
- The Secret Friend isn't just a short film, it's a statement of what elderly people deal with.
- Aging issues are very important to me, and I don't mind to be seen as a director obsessed with elderly people's identity and sexuality.
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